Allegory on the Complexity of Man

Landscape with a naked child, leaning back against a tree. His arm rests on a skull, his legs on a lion. He is surrounded by a lamb, a fox, a snake, and a bird. In his hand he holds an hourglass (which symbolizes the transience of life). He points to the name "Christ" in the sky, surrounded by rays and cherubim. The representation is framed in an ornamental border with medallions in the corners depicting the four different life stages of man: in a nursery a baby is born (top left), young men engaged in study, music, and painting (top right), a family praying before a meal (bottom left), an old man on his deathbed, surrounded by grieving family members (bottom right). Between the medallions, cartouches with biblical quotations in Latin, and attributes belonging to the activities of the different ages.