Oude man met armband in hand 1756 - 1774

Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo etched this old man, identifiable by his deep wrinkles, heavy eyelids, and thick beard. At the time, beards signified wisdom and maturity but were also associated with hermits or philosophers, figures removed from the world’s vanity. Note the bracelet he holds. Jewelry, particularly when clutched tightly as it is here, symbolizes memory, and the holding of this object has appeared across centuries of art. One can look to ancient Roman funerary portraits, where similar gestures appear, signaling remembrance and commemoration of the dead. Holding an object can trigger powerful emotional states. Psychologically, the old man clutches it to his chest as if life were passing before him. The bracelet suggests the weight of time, loss, and the cyclical nature of life—echoing in the artwork the memento mori motif, urging us to remember our mortality.