The Triumph of Time, plate four from The Triumphs of Petrarch

Description

Barely upright, swaying on crutches as he is paraded forward, Pencz’s figure of Time clearly suffers from the ill effects of aging: the hourglass is running out, and the wheels of his chariot are clock dials counting down to Death. While adults have reason to be particularly concerned by Time’s relentless march, even children push younger infants in rolling walkers in an attempt to avoid the inevitable.

The Triumph of Time, plate four from The Triumphs of Petrarch

Georg Pencz

c. 1539

Accession Number

77867

Medium

Engraving in black on ivory laid paper

Dimensions

Plate/sheet: 15.1 × 21 cm (6 × 8 5/16 in.)

Classification

engraving

Museum

The Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago, United States

Credit Line

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Potter Palmer