De trap des ouderdoms 1850 - 1870

Curator: This etching, titled "De trap des ouderdoms"—or "The Stairs of Old Age"—was created sometime between 1850 and 1870. It's currently held in the Rijksmuseum collection, and the piece is credited to Hermanus Numan. Editor: Wow, it's quite graphic. An odd mood too...a strangely colored and faintly cheerful image of the inevitable decay we all try so hard to avoid. It is really wonderfully morbid and pretty at the same time. Curator: Right, the visual structure is intriguing. We see figures ascending a staircase, each step marked with a decade of life, from ten to a hundred. At the top, the figures are at their peak—youthful and standing above the inscription "Memento Mori". Editor: Yes, and that reminder of death at the *peak* seems crucial here. It really speaks to the ephemeral nature of beauty and strength...sort of like a Dutch vanitas painting compressed into a single scene, doesn't it? Those frail little figures in their powdered wigs...you just know their time is limited. Curator: Absolutely, the linear, almost diagrammatic representation combined with the stylistic elements of Romanticism lends this work its striking, didactic tone. Each stage is carefully delineated, illustrating life’s perceived milestones and ultimate decline. Note also the parallel scenery showing first flourishing life and then withering decay alongside the figures on the stairs... Editor: It's hard not to see a commentary on societal roles and expectations tied to each age, but the romantic undertones make it strangely intimate. And also those muted, soft, almost hand-colored tints add to the effect—sort of a tender elegy. Almost makes one want to enjoy that brief moment in the sun while we can, you know? Before the stairs start going down again... Curator: Indeed. Numan offers us not just a depiction of aging, but an invitation to consider our own place on life's staircase. Editor: Very true...I came expecting dour, and I am leaving with…something quite touching. And wonderfully unsettling!