three figures in foreground, from left: figure with a basket and a bowl, walking with a crutch, bearded man with his wrists chained together, extending between his legs, man falling on his sword; landscape in background, with very large fire in ULC, with figure falling off cliff; text at bottom

Man is threatened by poverty, imprisonment and death, plate #5 from "The Misery of Human Life", 1563

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A woman in tattered clothing walks with the aid of a crutch and carries a begging bowl and an empty basket. A man walks with his hands manacled, with chains going from the cuffs, bewteen his legs, and presumably up his back to the iron collar around his neck. Finally a man is tripping, and having dropped his sword is about to fall on it, impaling himself. In the background, a clifftop castle is on fire and a mn is falling from the cliff. At right, a dead body floats down a river. Such are the perils of life: poverty, imprisonment, and death.

This is the fifth print in a series of six that studies the misery of human life. The images were designed by Maarten van Heemskerck and engraved by Philips Galle. Each is accompanied by Latin verses by the learned Dutch polymath Hadrianus Junius (1511-1575), with further verses in French and Dutch below.

Details
Title
Man is threatened by poverty, imprisonment and death, plate #5 from "The Misery of Human Life"
Artist Life
1537 - 1612
Role
Artist
Accession Number
2021.69.19.5
Catalogue Raisonne
The Illustrated Bartsch, vol. LVI .072:5 New Hollstein, Philips Galle, Part II.291 I/II
Curator Approved

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three figures in foreground, from left: figure with a basket and a bowl, walking with a crutch, bearded man with his wrists chained together, extending between his legs, man falling on his sword; landscape in background, with very large fire in ULC, with figure falling off cliff; text at bottom