Category: Life course

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Raffael Madonna

„Mary and the child“ has been the success painting of Raffael around the years of 1500. 3 variants on this topic are presented at the Gemäldegalerie Berlin. Each pose varies only slightly, but each tells a very different story. The Madonna changes the regard from beyond the child, on the child, then to another child. An interesting sequence as such, which puts the relationship with the child also in perspective. The child develops over the sequence from the fast learner into the person with „power grip“ to the one that is spreading benevolence. The different stages of the life course are somehow taking place within a short period of the child. (Image: Raffael, Mary with Child, Gemäldegalerie Berlin)

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Age of maturity

The bronze statue by Camille Claudel „L‘âge mûr“ is her most famous works. It is part of the exhibition Claudel & Hoetger in the “Alte Nationalgalerie“ in Berlin. Usually the statue is part of the permanent exhibition in the „Musée d‘Orsay“. With the depiction of different stages of the life course and somehow revealing the emotional trajectories of the persons the scene of human joy and tragedy becomes tangible beyond her personal fate. The scenario and arrangement in the Alte Nationalgalerie allows to focus on this particular work with an emphasis on the trajectory and the evolutionary path. A unique arrangement does better justice to the particular message of the artist than being surrounded by too many other works of art. (Image: extract of Camille Claudel‘s „L‘âge mûr“ in showroom Alte Nationalgalerie, 2025-8)

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Claudel & Hoetger

It is well known that artists joined other artists and groups to get inspired. The entangled relationship between Camille Claudel and Auguste Rodin has become a special example of the tricky relationship between learning and co-creation or inspiration. The role of galerists in building a reputation for artists is less well understood. The “Alte Nationalgalerie“ in Berlin opens up this black box a bit through juxtaposition of Camille Claudel, Bernhard Hoetger as disciples of Auguste Rodin. The influences are rather obvious, yet each disciple developed her/his unique style. The emancipation was not without frictions. The galerist Eugène Blot organized a joint exposition of both disciples in 1905 in Paris, which is partly reproduced in Berlin 2025. Great work by the curators of the exhibition Yvette Deseyve and Sintje Guericke who managed to bring together unique sculptures from 3+ museums and a great explanation of the links between the artists as well as the proximity of ateliers. (Image: view of showroom in Alte Nationalgalerie Berlin, Claudel & Hoetger 2025)

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liberté urbanité

In the museum of the history of Paris “Musée Histoire de Paris Carnavalet” we find a special place devoted to the commemoration of the terror attacks in Paris in the Bataclan event location and the office of the journal “Charlie Hebdo” (see image below”. The skateboard on the bottom left of the wall raises the value of “urbanité” next to liberté, égalité, fraternité. The attack of an urban living style with youth going out as they like and journalists and caricaturists speaking their minds freely had been attacked, but continues nevertheless. This statement is part of the Paris state of mind. 

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Le Brun Selfie

The great painter and decorateur of the French monarch Louis XIV was Charles Le Brun. He was careful about the way he wanted to be remembered in history. His late 17th century self portrait is exposed in the Musée Histoire de Paris Carnavalet. Rightfully put in front of elegant red “tapisserie”, the selfie is remarkable for its attention to details. The hair is drawn with high precision and not a single one seems out of place. The painter does not focus on the person in front of him, but rather on some detail next to or behind the depicted Le Brun. The dress chosen is rather an ordinary person’s one or a person devoted to his work and artistic craftsmanship. No hands, no arms, no shoulders. The sole focus is on the head or should we say the brain and facial expression. Realistic painting is probably the closest you can get to today’s selfie-mania. Le Brun’s decoration and paintings in Versailles and churches ate probably some of the most popular backgrounds of selfiies even in the 21st century.

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Home for dog

The places where some dogs live can be rather big. But even tiny dogs may enjoy a luxury home like their owners. This was certainly the case for the dog’s niche in a Paris home, a few years before the French revolution (1785). The exhibit is a testimony of the tough inequality of the late 18th century in Paris, where some enjoyed far reaching luxury and large parts of the population were forced to live in poverty within Paris or the suburbs with little access to basic sanitary facilities. The discrepancy between the luxurious homes of pets and the average person might serve as an indicator for income and health inequality. The Musée Histoire de Paris Carnavalet has a great stock of artifacts that can speak to the issue. Image: Musée Histoire de Paris Carnavalet dog niche 1785). 

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Photographe engagée

Marie-Laure de Decker is featured in the “Musée européenne de la photographie” (MEP) as a photographer committed to capture truth in situations of conflict. She started her career with documentary photos from the Vietnam war. Rather than searching for spectacular scenes, she succeeded in her attempt to capture the more emotional and, therefore, relatable moments for her various audiences. With a firm commitment to the human in her work, the photos by Marie-Laure de Decker reach a level of extraordinary sensitivity to what it means to stay human in violent situations and even military conflict. The portraits of politicians, workers, professions and famous actors applied the same approach. Rather than days or weeks Marie-Laure de Decker spent months or years in the regions of her documentary photo series ranging from Vietnam, South Africa throughout the apartheid regime, Pinochet years of dictatorship in Chile, the 2 parts of Yemen to a prolonged stay in Chad.

The exhibition in the MEP in Paris curated by Victoria Aresheva  raises awareness to the additional fact that photo journalism became an affordable profession only after specialized agencies were created that granted authorship rights to photographers, which ensured later use of their work in edited volumes as well as working for several newspapers or magazines. (Image: Marie-Laure de Decker, self-portraits, MEP Paris exhibits 2025-8). 

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Emotional history

The making of emotional memories of a city is an art in itself. Many cities have professional photographers who accompany all major events in a city over years. Paris has had the chance that artist photographers and film makers have contributed greatly to the emotional history of the city. Agnès Varda was such a formidable person whose images and movies moved people and allowed to share emotions about the city’s busy and diverse neighborhoods. The « Musée Histoire de Paris Carnavalet » combines an autobiographic perspective with the emotional depiction of live in Paris from the 1950s onwards into the late 20th century. (Image: Agnès Varda, 1950 self-portrait, MEP Paris). 

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Femmes Photographers

Paris puts 2 women photographer into the spotlight. The MEP and the Musée historique de la Ville de Paris feature a gender perspective on photography. Both photographers have a common starting point in black and white photography.  Each moved on to develop their art into an additional direction later during their career. Marie-Laure de Decker shifted from the early camera technology from black and white images to color photography in the later stages of her career. Agnès Varda moved from her initial b/w photographic work on to the production of videos for cinema, mainly focused on life in Paris from the early 1960s onwards. An evolution over the professional life becomes evident for both through these retrospectives of their respective work. Technologies evolved and became more accessible for artists’ creative expression. Both moved on to adopt new techniques and challenges. Great personal learning experiences and models for today’s challenges.

(Image Marie-Laure de Decker, L’image comme engagement 2025-8 MEP Paris).

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Gentileschi Heroine

The choice of a woman as heroine in a painting beyond religious topics was innovative in the early 17th century. Artemisia Gentileschi chose Cleopatra as her character in the ultimate scene of Cleopatra‘s life. The heroic act of guiding the poisonous snake to bite her under her arm is the ultimate act of Cleopatra to have served her country and people. As history books are full of male heros Artemisia Gentileschi succeeded in drawing attention to the biased gender stereotypes in art and art history beyond the 17th century.

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Gentileschi Selfie

Today the production of „selfies“ is all around us. Selfies are shot almost instantaneously and several times a day by use of modern smartphones. About 400 years ago the first woman to produce a selfie was Artemisia Gentileschi. As (one of) the first female painter in art history to have created a painted image of herself (which is transmitted today) Artemisia Gentileschi made history. Her unique biography, style and craftsmanship of the early 17th century in Italy made herself a renowned painter. Her choice to depict herself rather than somebody nobel or rich was quite unusual for the time. The audacious choice of herself as her „sujet“ became even her trademark. Later paintings by her with biblical topics were also subject to her reinterpretation based on herself as the female character in the narrative and image. In this respect her work appears so much ahead of her time that her impressive work speaks to all generations today. (Image: extract of Jael and Sisera by Artemisia Gentileschi 1620, Musée Jaquemart André“ in Paris 2025-8)

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Women artists

The history of art has been dominated in public opinion for centuries by men. However, recently art historians have drawn our attention to the numerous works of women who took Centre stage with their art during the last 500 years. Flavia Frigeri (2019, 2024) begins her history of women artists with Lavinia Fontana (1552-1614) followed by Artemisia Gentileschi (1593-1652). Both painters produced extraordinary paintings which brought their own touch to the paintings at a time when an independent expression through art was still largely reserved for men. The subjects of Gentileschi were greatly influenced by her experiences as a woman in a male dominated society in the 17th century in Europe. Her choice of subjects for her paintings added a female vision and depiction of biblical and historical narratives that were unique. The „Musée Jacquemart André“ in Paris featured a great retrospective of her art work in 2025. The catalog of the exhibition allows to enter into the art and wit of this early woman artist. 

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Zadkine museum

In the middle of Paris you will find a small former atelier of Zadkine. Transformed into a museum, the place is a cosy place to learn about sculpture and the different materials used. The preparations in form of designs or smaller trials with other materials are common practice to arrive at the sometimes monumental pieces. The visit of the permanent collection is even free of charge. A splendid experience in a surprising spot of silence next to buzzing city streets. Depicting musicians and musical instruments has been Zadkine’s shared passion with Valentine Prax. Great that he managed to reach the USA in time before the Nazi persecution could reach him. However, exile often means hardship as well. 

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Zadkine Prax

Ossip Zadkine and Valentine Prax once had their atelier next door to each other at art school. This established a lasting link between the 2. Whereas Zadkine became best known for his sculptures, Prax became famous as a painter. It appears that influences from one to the other are present in the works and several sculptures or preparations for sculptures were collected by Prax and found their way into the permanent exhibition of the museum. Intertwined biographies of artists are an inspiring reminder that art is not created only within a single mind, but many references or inspirations come from joint conversations or just working next to each other for some time. The social part of creating art is visible in this exceptional exhibition. Valentine Prax is honored with a presence in the Zadkine museum as well.

Image: Valentine Prax

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Zadkine Van Gogh

Ossip Zadkine has been a sculptor in cubists’ art tradition. He created famous sculptures of Vincent van Gogh after the death of the renowned painter and his friend. The Zadkine museum in Paris allows to get a great impression of these artworks. These sculptures reveal an interesting life course perspective on both artists sensitivity and transformation of their impressions of others or emotions more generally. The first study depicted below by Ossip Zadkine of van Gogh shows how he carefully studied the traits of van Gogh and his personality in order to better understand the evolution and death of the fellow artist. The emotional and broader psychological aspects of a character captured both artists. Doing justice to these inner feelings and society’s judgments about art and artists at their time of creation had strong impacts on both artists. 

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Air pollution dementia

A comprehensive review and update of evidence that indicates a link between air pollution and dementia has been published in “The Lancet” open access on 2025-7-25. Besides a genetic predisposition the environmental impact of our worsening air quality caused by fine dust particles and PM 2,5 and nitrogen dioxide NO2 has been found in several studies. This updated meta study should be an additional warning to take efforts to clean up our air more seriously. The diesel engines amongst other sources of air pollution have contributed a great deal to this evolution. Inner city inhabitants are at greater risks to suffer the consequences as they are more exposed to these pollutants and for longer durations. Clean air is a matter of brain health in advanced age and biodiversity as well.  

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Genetic diversity

Part of genetic diversity is the apparent fact that some partnerships have only girls or only women as descendants. This is the message of a study published in Science Advances by Wang et al. on 2025-7-18. The commonly assumed binomial distribution where each event has an equal chance of occurrence at each new point in time does not necessarily hold for this particular events. Therefore, the search for a genetic explanation has been going on for some years. Therefore, there might be a potential for an epigenetic explanation as well, as environmental conditions might co-determine the expression of genes in both parents. The research will surely continue and the sex and gender diversity offers still a lot of surprises. A sociologist’s perspective would tend to focus on later gender attributes and choices rather than sex at birth. The bio-psycho-social research agenda remains wide open.  

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Sedentary Lifestyle

There seems to exist a correlation between a more sedentary lifestyle and the level of industrialization. Industrialized countries have attempted to beat the running of time by faster modes of transport. From horses to cars, trains and airplanes. As a corollary of wanting to go faster the number steps walking has decreased compared to countries with less private or public means of transportation. The the time you spend sitting in transport the less we tend to walk or cycle. Obesity has become a dangerous consequence for large parts of those sedentary individuals and sedentary societies. The contribution by Paul Klotz in “Le Monde” from 2025-7-26 (p.24) highlights the bio-psycho-socio co-determination of the sedentary lifestyle. Societal developments to build entire cities more suited to car and train traffic has made walking the city a stressful task. Rebuilding our cities with a focus for a society on the move again is a challenge for more than one generation.

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Electric Fun

The 60s, 70s and 80s have been fantastic precursors of the “All electric society” because of the electric music 🎶 industry that became a mass phenomenon. First of all the electric guitar allowed a wave of new music to take hold of a whole generation and probably keeps its adepts until today. E-pianos, keyboards, drum machines and synthesizers made music playing more accessible as well. You just need to plug in your instrument and you were able to produce an overwhelming sound. Other electric pleasures might include water pumps for water heaters and sprinklers. Electronic games and gadgets soon took over in children’s rooms. Of course, calculators as precursors of mobile phones and computers were another step in the progress towards the “All electric society”. Electronics are about to govern large parts of our lives and society. We better take a serious look at what we gain and what we might lose. 

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Just walk

The benefits of walking for several health outcomes is well known. The evidence is in favor of 7000 steps per day as a reasonable baseline. Some outcomes improve further if we walk even more steps, but not all. Probably, the effects of being accompanied while walking will enhance outcomes as well. Every summer the step threshold may be pushed a little bit further. Goal setting can help along to overcome eventual barriers to leave the home later in the evening. Nature rewards us with changing daylight and seasonal changes. We just have to get started to reap those health benefits.

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Work time reduction

One of the major elements of social progress in the 20th century consisted in the reduction of work time. Reductions from 48 hours per week in the first half of the century were largely reduced to 40 hours per week or less in some industries with strong trade union representation. State regulations also pushed in this direction with positive implications for physical and mental health as well as wellbeing. Advances in longevity of employees may be attributable to this social progress agenda of the 20th century. In the 21st century we witness a new thrust of enterprises and employees striving to implement a 4 day work schedule by at the same time organizing a further reduction of work hours. The scientific evidence which is based on pre- and post trial assessments of workers satisfaction shows rather positive results (Fan, Schor, Kelly, Gu 2025). More studies are due to accompany this potential of further health and wellbeing effects of reduced work time and the reorganization of work time in enterprises. 

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Climate Awareness

The Musée d’Orsay has prepared a wonderful walk through its permanent exhibition of late 19th and early 20th century installations to reflect upon climate and climate change. Raising awareness about the treasures lost and those we are about to lose in the next few years. Impressionist painters have depicted landscapes, cities and monuments covered in snow, which the next generations will no longer be able to enjoy the same way. The roofs of Paris covered with snow has become a feature of a distant past. Additionally, the impression of the massive steam trains crossing metal bridges appear as the daunting future of technical progress. Mixed feelings of fascination and risk associated with those machines were captured by those painters’ eyes. Nowadays we are aware of the consequences of this technical progress for our planet. The walk through museum with a focus on climate related paintings is eye opening indeed. (Image: Extract of Éduard Veuillard, Le jardin des Tuileries, Musée d’Orsay, Paris) 

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Electrifying Jobs

The transition to the “all electric society” necessitates to prepare the labor force for the upcoming challenge. The knowledge about electricity and electric appliances constitutes the basics of the knowledge base of the future. This goes far beyond the basics of physics and electrical engineering. There many processes like sharing of electric infrastructure in households, cities, in and beyond countries that have to be delt with. Investment calculations and legal issues to address the different risks involved are another area to cover in the process to prepare society for the “all electric society”.
However, the skills of professions with more direct links to the fossil fuel based technologies have a role in the phasing out of the heavy reliance on fossil fuels. Reverse engineering of such engines and heating will need people still knowledgeable of the past, when younger generations set their focus primarily on professions with links to electricity. Even using a solar powered heat pump in a home requires pipes to the existing network of radiators, for example. This will most likely be a gradual shift of the job structure and occupational requirements over at least a decade, but the shift has started already. Some might argue we need a well functioning “transitional labour market”, labour market policies and social security system for this to happen smoothly.

 

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Less but better

There are many examples where a new mantra for the 21st century emerges from recent scientific evidence: “Less, but better” (Lbb). In studies of nutrition and human dietary requirements, the importance to eat less has been demonstrated on a regular basis. And this is even more important than to do more exercise if weight loss is the target or the attempt to explain obesity across the globe (McGrosky et al. 2025). The case for eating less is strong. Eating better refers to the need to avoid unhealthy, toxic or cancerous food or the way to prepare food. “Less but better” could become the new mantra or “categorical imperative” if you like it more philosophical in tone. We, the people gain, and the planet will gain as well. It is an easy win-win case, albeit with some behavioral implications.

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Work and Time

The link between work and time has been evolving as a major element of social progress over centuries. In what younger generations seem to take for granted, <40 hours week, paid time off-work. 4-5 days per week to name only the major ones, has been the result of huge struggles and hustles driven by employees and their trade unions to achieve such milestones. The current debate to get employees back into offices and/or to work longer hours again, is also in the end a debate about work and time. The advantage of working from home consists among other factors in saving a lot of valuable time and stress from commute to work. This unaccounted time to go to work has become a major health hazard even in an apparently comfortable company subsidized car or any other means of transportation. The traffic jams of so-called rush hours, when in fact everybody is slowed down, are a serious health hazard usually ignored by employers. However, these hours are a major part of the work-life-time balance of employees. In many negotiations and collective bargaining about working time this is the big elephant in the room rarely addressed.

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Ultimate Step

Reports in the New York Times, The Guardian and Le Monde in recent weeks have brought to our attention that there are shocking ultimate steps undertaken by several employees of public services. In the case of the British post office a decade long inquiry has uncovered that 13 suicides of employees occurred after they had falsely been accused of fraud. A long time ago in France Telecom a series of suicides was also attributed to a harsh personnel policy. The Office of Public Finances (DGFiP) is confronted with a series of suicides in 20025 of 12 employees who apparently made the ultimate step to put an end to their life. Not all is to be blamed on the enterprises or public services concerned, however, they failed or omitted attempts to prevent the ultimate steps. Initiatives like peer listeners as anonymous contact points or access to psychological counseling are necessary parts of a responsible human resource practice, even if it might not be a sufficient condition to avoid the ultimate step in some instances. In many cases employees go far beyond their mental capacities in terms of commitment to their work, they should not be left alone in case of severe consequences.
Burn-out, for example, needs to be tackled as part of the responsibility of enterprises and public services alike. It is highly unfair to put the costs of psychological consequences on the shoulders of families and the state. Investigations into toxic leadership styles and the current revival of “workaholic” work ethos will have serious negative consequences for families and society as whole again.

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AI 2nd round effects

The most popular topic currently is AI.
Most writers, assisted by some form of AI, will deal with the 1st round effects of AI. These consist in the immediate consequence of the use of AI in office work, medical and military applications, music and all producing or creative industries. As an economist you take the input – output matrix of the economy (OECD countries) and take AI as an additional dimension of this I/O matrix, for example. The result is an AI-augmented model of the economy. This 3-dimensional cubic view of the economy asks to reflect on the potential short-term and medium-term impact of AI.
Let’s take the example of translation and editing services. AI will in the short-term or the 1st round effects make it easier to offer mechanical translations with fast turnaround. Most likely, this will lead to less translators needed for routine translations of longer texts, which would otherwise be a very costly endeavour. The 2nd round effects, however, will make the expert knowledge of translators of texts, where every word counts, more necessary in order to provide the best version of a translation targeted on specific audiences.
In the legal domain, for example, the precision of words is primordial and errors can be very costly. Hence, the 2nd round effects of AI in this field will increase the demand for high quality translation services more than before the use of AI. The important shift consists in these 2nd round effects of AI, which give a push to multilingual societies as just one medium-term outcome.
Please use AI to read (listen) to this paragraph in your native language or even dialect using your favourite AI-tool.

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Pet effects

Pets have effects, some might cancel out each other. In psychology there is a long debate about the pet effect, which claims that pets have overall a positive effect on a person’s well being. This claim has recently been debunked. Many persons have taken over the care of an animal for their own comfort and regular daily routines. The Covid crisis had spurred such behavior in many people, but the scientific evidence taking into account the responsibilities that come with ownership of a pet, can outweigh the benefits of having company. The choice of a pet should certainly not be an easy or haphazard one. There is a need to consider the full range of pleasure and responsibilities. Traveling with pets and vacation times pose additional challenges that can cause stress to owners as well. Dog sitting or pet sitting platforms have been thriving since the Covid pandemic and this is to the benefit of everyone involved.

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Social promise

In the beginning and middle of the 2020s the social promise to younger generations has been broken. The latest figures from the USA reveal that 2 million students (WSJ 2025-6-25 A3) who have financed their studies and potential social mobility by taking out a substantial loan are very likely to default on their credits. This observation was less a surprise to labor market analysts as the stalling of student hiring in many countries has happened for several years now. The more surprising finding is that the Wall Street Journal 2025-6-25 has been reporting on this. Banks or universities who are highly exposed to this kind of risk will themselves become downgraded for their credit rating. Higher interests for universities means higher fees and higher student loans eventually. The social promise to reach higher status and earnings through higher education as the social promise of the meritocratic society becomes an illusion. Investors in student housing might also find the sector less juicy for them. Students and their parents were taken hostage by an excessive commercialization and commodification od education. Lifelong learning is a still a promising route to revitalize the social promise.

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Home financing

For most people the biggest investment decision during their entire life course is the decision how to finance their home. The calculation of the costs of a bank loan over 10, 15 or 20 years to finance the acquisition of a home is a necessary part of basic financial literacy. The contract of monthly installments over years, considering economic uncertainties like inflation and interest rate payments, necessitates some basic knowledge of calculus and maybe the use of a spreadsheet to prepare payment plans with different scenarios. According to the Wall Street Journal of 2025-6-25 many home owners in southern states “slipped under water” in recent months in the USA. In short, buying a house when they are most expensive with a high interest loan and little down payment puts you at high risk if the prices for homes decline, for example like in a recession or stagnation. You can find yourself in the situation that the mortgage you have to pay suddenly exceeds the value of your home at actual prices. It is really important to be aware of the overall economic situation and risks of changes, like interest rate or inflation spikes due to a changing policy on tariffs. Reading and learning about financial risks should really enter into the school curriculum, but not left to maths classes as this will frighten off many students to take this topic seriously enough.