In 1896, the sculptor Jacques de Lalaing created a curious work in the middle of Square Ambiorix in Brussels. Titled The Three Ages of Man, it represents the three stages of human history.
A naked man holding a club stands for Barbarism, a naked woman playing a lyre symbolises Civilisation, and a fully-clothed old man represents Organised Society.
Jacques de Lalaing was a successful Anglo-Belgian sculptor who created symbolic works dotted around Brussels. The son of a Belgian aristocrat, he spent his early years in England before settling in Brussels in 1875.
His works include the impressive Battle of the Horsemen sculpture at the entrance to the Bois de la Cambre, the Waterloo monument in Evere cemetery and a statue of Leopold I in Ostend.
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