"Cycle of Life" painting. Holland, [c. 1800].
Oil on wood.
In the center are two symmetrical staircases integrated into one unit, leading to a gate blocked by a low fence. Nine figures stand on the stairs, with their ages written on the stairs, from age ten until ninety, in intervals of ten years, from left to right.
The figures on the left side of the stairs are vivid and lively – young men dressed in red and brown garments, elaborate brim hats on their heads, one holding a dagger, the other a flag, the third wearing a cape.
The figures in the center of the staircases and the figures on the right side are dressed in black – men wearing round hats, their backs bent lower and lower, their beards turning whiter and whiter. In front of the left staircase stands a pregnant woman; at the bottom of the right staircase lies a dead person in shrouds.
81X54 cm. Good-fair condition. Painted on three wooden boards connected one to another and framed in original wooden frame.