Trap des ouderdoms 1833 - 1900

Dirk van Lubeek's "Trap des Ouderdoms" presents a ladder of life, charting the course from infancy to death, a motif echoing across centuries. Each step is marked by age, and the figures above are draped in garments that become increasingly sombre. Note the figure of Chronos reclining at the base, a winged deity representing time, holding an orb—a symbol of mortality that recurs in Renaissance vanitas paintings. The orb is the key to understanding that the cycle of life ends with death, as did the ancient belief in the wheel of fortune and the ever-turning cycle of life and death. These figures remind me of those in medieval "Dance of Death" frescos, where skeletons lead people of all ages and professions to their final end, reflecting a collective anxiety about mortality that transcends time. The emotional core lies in the recognition of our shared fate. Just as the orb rolls along through time, the anxieties of death reappear over time, with each generation.