Depictions of aging in western art divide for the most part on a binary: old women are grotesques, hags and witches. Old men are feeble and the lowest order of society. Despite the sensitivity with which they may have depicted parents or revered figures in society, the types that are represented reflect antagonism toward previous generations and signify alienation as a characteristic of modern life. Old women might on the one hand represent the victimized in society, on the other hand they stand in for psychological tension and terror.
Pablo Picasso, Celestina, 1903