The Twelve Ages of a Man: The First Three Ages (Birth-18), or Spring

Bernard van Orley

ca. 1515 · Wool, silk (16-20 warps per inch, 6-8 per cm.) · European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

This is the first of a set of four tapestries illustrating the life of a man as divided into twelve periods of six years. Venus, in the center, stands for the springtime of life; the symbols and occupations of three months, January, February, and March, represent the years from birth to eighteen. The stories show Moses, as a child, choosing a burning coal instead of a piece of gold; a Roman boy, Papirius, explaining to the Senators how he had tricked his mother in order to conceal their secrets; and the youthful Alexander astonishing the Persian ambassadors by his shrewdness.

Artist

Bernard van Orley

Date

ca. 1515

Medium

Wool, silk (16-20 warps per inch, 6-8 per cm.)

Culture

Netherlandish, Brussels

Department

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Credit line

Gift of The Hearst Foundation, in memory of William Randolph Hearst, 1953