Image scanned and/or photographed, then color-corrected by Pat Cagney.

Changing Years of Manhood

Artist Unknown

MediumOil on canvas | Masonite

DimensionsOverall, Frame: 25 3/4 x 47 5/8 in. (65.4 x 121 cm)

ClassificationsAmerican art

Credit LineGift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.

Object number0.3212

Terms

People
Trees
Arch
Clouds

On View

Not on view

DescriptionThis is an oil on canvas painting mounted on masonite. A man’s life ascends from infancy to youth, independence, and maturity. At its peak is a good dog, a loyal wife, and bags of money. Beyond the pinnacle lies a steady descent into senility and death. This nineteenth-century American fable plays out against a landscape painted from the artist’s imagination. He copied the castle at left from a picture of a tourist site in Germany. Other elements appear to be derived from Hudson River School paintings. The artist’s hand-lettered labels refer to California gold and Civil War greenbacks. The year inscribed below the arch, 1878, is presumably the year the painting was made; it also marks the year the government redeemed war-era paper money for hard cash.

Label TextChanging Years of Manhood, ca. 1878 American Oil on canvas mounted on board In contrast to Thomas Cole’s four-stage voyage, this folk painting organizes life into 11 chapters, pictured as steps over a bridge. Changes in one’s family, profession, and health distinguish each decade between birth and age 100. Notice the flowery hill under the boyhood years, followed by a deep ravine and blasted tree. This painting blends familiar landscape symbols from The Voyage of Life with German costumes and Alpine scenery, including Lichtenstein Castle on the far left. The anonymous artist was most likely a recent immigrant from southwest Germany. Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. 0.3212