Obj. ID: 52103 Fosse Ardeatine Mausoleum Complex in Rome, Italy - 'The Three Ages of Man' Sculpture
Memorial Name
The Three Ages of Man
Description
Overlooking the plaza and the gate, and visible from the road outside the memorial complex, is a 6-meter-high sculpture carved in travertine. Three male figures have their backs toward each other, and they look out at different points in the complex. They are of three ages, representing the age range of the victims from 15 to 70. The youngest figure looks toward the caves. His shirt is pulled back and he seems to await his execution. The second figure is older and well-dressed, he wears a buttoned jacket and a topcoat and looks toward the blank white tomb on the hillside. The third figure – the one that looks over the gate and is visible from the street, is young, virile, and bearded, but his head falls to the side, his hands are clasped at his waist, and he is bare-chested and bound with the shirt. This figure seems to have been modeled on traditional images such as the flagellation of the bound Jesus (though most of such images have his hands bound behind).
