Public domain
The Vain World Blocks the Path Upward
From the collection of Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
In a landscape, a group of people of different ages stands: two playing young children, a young loving couple, a self-satisfied adult couple, and a poor elderly couple. A globe, symbolizing the vanity of the world, blocks a gate and a path leading up to a temple. Surrounding the scene is a rocaille frame with leaf motifs and a cartouche. In the lower margin, two columns with three-line German text.
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam’s own descriptionCredit lineIJdele wereld verspert de weg omhoog. 1731 - 1788. Johann Esaias Nilson. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Public domain.
