The Course of Human Life, Pieter Jalhea Furnius, 1570

Plate 1, child birth: in the foreground, the three fates determine the duration of life, clotho holds the distaff, lachesis works the spindle and atropos cuts the thread; to the far left, a woman lies in a canopied bed, a man reaches for her hand; to left, three women nurse a new born child; to right, groups of children play on a swing and a see-saw; after jan van der straet. 1570 engraving. Date: 1570. Dimensions: Height: 222 mm (image size); Width: 299 mm. Medium: paper. Depicted People: Atropos. Collection: British Museum. The Course of Human Life (BM 1957,0413.21)