Inn Scene with Prostitutes

This engraving was executed after a composition by Karel van Mander. It shows a dapper gentleman embraced by two prostitutes at an inn. Behind them is a curtain, suggesting a bed or some private space. Two dogs lick at a morsel in the man’s outstretched hand. An innkeeper and a serving boy bring food out of the kitchen in the background. The print bears a legend in Italian and Dutch which can be translated as “The nuzzle of dogs, the love of whores, the hospitality of innkeepers: None of it comes without cost.”