In this triptych in a pictorial form the life cycle idea is presented. The idea of how it should be against as it were an ideal person. We proceed from the assumption that the world in which we are living is not the only one and may be is not the main one. The hand of Providence is attending us all our life (“Old age” is standing first, because the fact of the end is known before man’s birth). A man is depicted here by five flame tips. In Childhood these tips are blue and gold, since in icons painting gold means divine light, and blue is a colour of divine mystery. A child is surrounded by a green mishmash of earthly world, in which there is a lot of small jewels, of small treasures of our childhood.
“Maturity” : here flame tips become red - the colour of vivifying warmth, of a grown-up’s activity, and one of the tips is gold - also with red tint. All of them are directed at the artificial world, at the construction of realty, which mankind is creating around it. Childhood is present somewhere in depth, it’s given as a kind of background, it pushes black temptations of the beyond aside from a man. And there appear three fingers, such a golden hand, which is doing just the same - it’s pushing the blackness aside form us.
Paradoxical enough, but the most bright and happy part in this cycle is the “Old age”. Energetic activity functions are already gone, but carefully selected treasures of childhood and maturity are back. And most important is approaching to the Lord (a known Russian actress Faina Ranevskaya used to say that the art of growing old is in becoming progressively kinder). And so, flame tips become gold again, and those which are not gold - are of goldish colour. From above a hand of Providence comes down to help us, and the blackness has already no chance, it’s dissociating and tears as a web.
