Pieter Nolpe: Staircase of the Ages of Man (1642 - 1665)

(Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands)

An engraving by the Dutch artist Pieter Nolpe (1613-1652). This print is an allegory of life itself. On a staircase are men with various ages. On the the left man is born (i lie), then he is 1 year old (i stand), then 10 (i play), 20 (i (am) delusional), 30 (i fight), 40 (i cut), 50 (i radiate), 60 (i descend), 70 (i  think), 80 (i digress), 90 (i moan) and last 100 (i die) with death itself on the far right. The text contains various texts which refer to the inevitability of death and that people shouldn't live without fear: in the left portal is a marriage ('the marriage brings fear and pain'), in the right portal a funeral (an 'eternal marriage') and in the central portal the end of times with the final judgement ('this is the end of all flesh, never live without fear'). Engravings like these had a moralizing purpose. Engraving from around 1642-1665.