An old man is paying a young woman, probably for sexual services. This was a recurring theme in north European Renaissance art and literature, often interpreted as an example of the folly of lust. Advanced age was associated with lechery. The clear contrast between the fawning old man and the seductively dressed woman accentuates the grotesqueness of the situation. The scales in her hand are a reference to the Last Judgement, when according to the Bible everyone will be judged by their deeds.