De mens op tachtigjarige leeftijd
Gerard van Groeningen
1569 - 1575
Medium
etching
Dimensions
196; 242
About this artwork
collector's mark: Lugt 2228
Art Historical Context
Created between 1569 and 1575, Gerard van Groeningen’s etching “De mens op tachtigjarige leeftijd” portrays an elderly man at the age of eighty. Executed in the intimate scale of 242 by 196 millimeters, the print belongs to the long tradition of depicting the stages of human life, a theme that encouraged moral reflection during the late Renaissance. Etching offered van Groeningen a precise yet fluid technique well suited to rendering the textures of aged skin, clothing, and expressive features, allowing such images to circulate widely among collectors and scholars across Northern Europe. The...