Walter Shaw Sparrow (1900) explained this painting as follows:

In a dark and desolate country, an aged king broods over his hoard of gold, while the dark Angel of Death approaches, a cloud-like mantle floating around her. It is strewn with stars and a moon shines dimly in the angel's dusky wing, all typical of the elements into which the miser will soon be resolved. Away in the distance, a freed spirit rises into the sky.