The Eleven Ages of Man
1609–72
Medium
Engraving
Dimensions
Sheet: 13 in. × 16 15/16 in. (33 × 43 cm) Plate: 9 15/16 × 14 3/8 in. (25.3 × 36.5 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, TheElisha Whittelsey fund, 1963
Accession Number
63.601.21
Tags
Art Historical Context
Gerhard Altzenbach’s engraving “The Eleven Ages of Man” presents a detailed visual narrative of human life’s progression. Created in the seventeenth century, the print traces eleven distinct stages from infancy through maturity and into old age, populated by of men, infants, animals, and skeletons. These elements underscore the cyclical and fragile nature of existence, a theme that resonated strongly in early modern Europe. As an engraving, the work highlights the medium’s importance for spreading moral and philosophical ideas. The precise line work allowed Altzenbach to distribute the image ...