The Ten Degrees Of Life And Death
Print
ca. 1650 (published)
ca. 1650 (published)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This engraving shows a variation on the ‘Ages of Man’ theme. a common subject for artists during the Renaissance, and later.
Symbolic representations of death and mortality ranged from showing figures of different ages to emblems such as skulls and hourglasses. In this print, a plump baby is shown with an hourglass on the left, and on the right, a skeleton climbs out of a coffin, accompanied by a broken hourglass. The ages are shown here on steps, leading up to the peak of middle age, and then downwards toward the grave. The suitably moral text is in four languages. This image, with updated costumes, was still in use in the early 1800s.
Symbolic representations of death and mortality ranged from showing figures of different ages to emblems such as skulls and hourglasses. In this print, a plump baby is shown with an hourglass on the left, and on the right, a skeleton climbs out of a coffin, accompanied by a broken hourglass. The ages are shown here on steps, leading up to the peak of middle age, and then downwards toward the grave. The suitably moral text is in four languages. This image, with updated costumes, was still in use in the early 1800s.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | The Ten Degrees Of Life And Death (popular title) |
| Materials and techniques | Engraving on paper |
| Brief description | 'The Ten Degrees Of Life And Death', engraving, a variation on the Seven Ages of Man, published by Danckert Danckertsz of Amsterdam, Netherlands, about 1650 |
| Physical description | Print showing a plinth with with five steps, with a man and a woman on each step, progressively getting older. On the bottom left, two babies lie on the ground, on the bottom right, two old people are lying in bed attended to by an angel. |
| Dimensions |
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| Gallery label | PRINTS: THE TEN DEGREES OF LIFE AND DEATH
Low Countries, about 1650
Engraving published by Danckert Danckertsz
of Amsterdam (active 1633/4 - 1666)
A variation on the common Renaissance theme of the Seven Ages of Man, from the cradle to the coffin, with a suitably moral text in four languages. This image, with updated costumes, was still in use in the early 1800s.
28237 |
| Object history | A variation on the common Renaissance theme of the Seven Ages of Man, from the cradle to the coffin, with a suitably moral text in four languages. This image, with updated costumes, was still in use in the early 1800s. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | This engraving shows a variation on the ‘Ages of Man’ theme. a common subject for artists during the Renaissance, and later. Symbolic representations of death and mortality ranged from showing figures of different ages to emblems such as skulls and hourglasses. In this print, a plump baby is shown with an hourglass on the left, and on the right, a skeleton climbs out of a coffin, accompanied by a broken hourglass. The ages are shown here on steps, leading up to the peak of middle age, and then downwards toward the grave. The suitably moral text is in four languages. This image, with updated costumes, was still in use in the early 1800s. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 28237 |
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| Record created | July 18, 2005 |
| Record URL |
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