Ars longa vita brevis (from "Aphorismi" by Hippocrates) literally means "skill takes time and life is short", but is also often interpreted as "art lasts, life passes". This is the thread that connects the generations of the patrician Kersten family.
This is the coat of arms of the family, wielded from 1600 by Elisabeth Kersten Christiani, according to the tombstone in the Basilica of Our Lady in Tongres. The fourth generation settled in Maastricht in the last quarter of the 18th century, where subsequent generations acquired fame as goldsmiths, sculptors and artists. They were Pierre Kersten (1789-1865): classicist, writer and founder/editor-in-chief of the "Journal Historique et Littéraire de Liège", Antoine Kersten (1880-1976): goldsmith, visual artist and alderman/loco-mayor and Paul-Marie Kersten (1916-1999): sculptor and goldsmith. This building is still in use by the family.
This gable stone with the Kersten family crest was cut by Cor van Oosterhout of Atelier Pierre Juste in Grave and polychromed by owner Philippe Kersten.
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