Download The Three Ages of Man

SUNY Broome Community College
The Three Ages of
Man
By Titian
Bewley-Lewis, Connor C
2-17-2016
Starting
from the
top left
of the
painting, there is a very dark area of foliage obscuring the viewer from being able to discern the
outline of the vegetation. Moving left, this gives way to a lighter, but still dark tree trunk that can
be seen only for a short time as the contours and basic shape of the trunk are lost as it shifts back
into the darkness behind the man’s neck. Moving left from there we can see a break in the voidlike forest to show a small piece of sky that is slightly orange and filled with stagnant, puffy,
almost see-through clouds, signifying a setting sun. As we move left, past another somber tree
branch with barb-like branches stemming off of it, the sky opens up to show clouds and a vast
array of brush strokes and colors. First there are wispy, more blue-green clouds that almost look
like they’re moving left to right with some measure of force. Next there is a break from the
commotion to reveal a calm section of sky that predominantly features blue sky, but has
randomly scattered small clouds that now have a much darker, more sinister look to them, as if to
warn of impending danger. As we continue to move left, we encounter the top of another tree
that appears to be dead and slowly rotting away, with its tilted stance showing that it could topple
to the ground below. This tree is much more defined being silhouetted against a light background
of the sky and the hills below that. The top of this tree sprouts many small branches and twigs
that all have random thicknesses and lengths, but all point up to the sky except for a few stray,
noticeably longer branches on the trunks’ right side which are almost perpendicular to the trunk.
Right of the tree spans a large cloud which extends all the way back into the middle of the
painting as it slowly creeps in from the right, getting lower and lower as it goes. The upper-most
sections of the cloud are lit quite well and show a light ivory color with areas of more intense
green as you reach each peak of the cloud. Above the large cloud is a small thin band of blue sky
that is almost being compressed in between the large white cloud and a narrow section of much
darker cloud that seems to hang over the larger one below and grows darker the more to the right
you go. Moving on to the next line down, starting from the left again, you see the dark patch
grow as it now extends outward with some long sagging branches that have on them many
tightly grouped leaves that appear to be the cause for the downward slope that the branch is
taking. In the middle if the large dark swatch, there are two small patches of light that can be
seen shining through the trees in a sort of “V” pattern. Left from there you can see that the
branch and leaves have a large recess that the orange light in the background can shine through.
It’s almost like the light is cutting off a section of the branch with its leaves, and the recess is the
cut mark that is growing larger still. Continuing left, we see the large blue sky once again, but
this time, there are many smaller, dark, wispy clouds that almost overwhelm the sky that they’re
inhabiting. As we follow the painting left, we come into contact with the large off-white cloud
once again. This time the puffiness is much more pronounced and the puffs overlap one another
at some points. The cloud at this point is much whiter and even contains some hints of blue in the
sections closest to the viewer. As we continue our march left, we once again pass the dead,
decrepit tree and come to the edge of the cloud, where it’s eclipsed by the tops of several trees
that seem to be moving with the same breeze that is carrying the cloud right across the painting.
The next line down show more of the large dark area and eventually gives way to a man’s hair
and head. The darkness disguises the top outline of the man’s head, but his shoulder and arm are
clearly very visible against the blackness of the dark forest. The man is very fit, he has very
pronounced muscles that can be seen all over his body. His hair is long, long enough to cover a
large portion of his right cheek and as black as the forest behind him. He has on only a small
cloth which covers his lower pelvic area and his right leg is bent in such a way as is obscures his
inner thigh region. His left arm is almost completely covered by the black forest as if he’s
reaching into the forest to retrieve something within it. His eyes are fixated on the woman’s eyes
who is staring back at his with the same amount of passion as he expresses as she crouches over
the man, leaning on his left leg for support. She is a much daintier person who looks like a
porcelain doll with her white skin and blonde hair that is set in some kind of pony tail style, but
much more flared in the back. She has on a head band consisting of small flowers that goes over
the top of her head. She has on a full red dress with white sleeves and lace at the end of them.
The sleeves of the dress are falling off the woman as she holds two flutes, one in each hand as if
she just finished playing a song. The next set of persons is a group of three babies, one with
angel wings that are all slumped together around the dead tree. Two of them appear to be
sleeping and one seems to be leaning on the dead tree for support while putting his foot on the
rear upper thigh of the second one. The two sleeping are embracing each other while they sleep
with one having his head on top of the other ones’ back. All three of them are pudgy and they all
have fat rolls which is indicative of a baby that is relativity new born. The baby who is standing
up has angel wings that are sprouting from his back and it has on a gown-type piece of clothing
that resembles a night gown, but shorter only going to the waist. They all have short curly blonde
hair that is more dirty blonde on the one at the very bottom than the one standing up. The final
human figure in the painting is an old man who is sitting on the ground with two skulls on each
side of his body, one in each hand. The old man has a long white and grey beard that extends
down into his lap as he hangs his head and stares at the skull in his right hand which he is
manipulating to look up back at him. He is wearing a long red robe with a pink robe with white
sleeves that completely covers his left leg and foot. The hill he is sitting on is a part of a series of
hills that all the people are on. Around the two adults the hill is much darker and has full grass
that features small plants interwoven within the grass. Next to the babies, the hill is barren,
featuring mostly dirt and several rocks varying in size along with a singular flower that sprouts
up from the ground that has several leaves and many buds on it. Under the old man, the hill is
much steeper, but still has full grass, but without the small flowers that the hill has in other
places. The very background depicts a very blue valley with a river winding through it with large
amounts of vegetation that meets on a very distinct line with the sky. The middle ground consists
of many trees of varying types, some with longer, pointer leaves and some with more spaced out
and circular leaves. There is a building that raises up over the trees that looks to be some kind of
house that belongs to the owner of the property. The house is very elongated with its window on
one side and it loses most of its color the farther down you go. There is some kind of animal in
the field in front of the trees that appears of be sitting down, staring at something in the distance.
Finally there are large rolling hills on the same plane are the house that as very similar in color
so that it’s difficult to distinguish where they rise and fall, and they grow darker as you reach the
background to contract with the sudden splash of blue that it provides.