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Original file
About This Work
An elderly, weary man walks on the left, while a skeletal figure representing Fate threatens from above. In the center, a winged, elderly man representing Time rides a bull over fallen figures, while a group of Fates occupies a cart on the right. An owl sits on a barren branch as a winged Fame blows a trumpet above them, creating a dense tableau of mortality and the inevitable passage of time.
The work reflects the pervasive Northern European interest in memento mori, integrating classical personifications like Saturn (Time) and the Parcae (Fates) with Christian themes of mortality. It echoes the preoccupation with 'Tempus edax' (devouring time) found in Ovid's Metamorphoses, a foundational text for Renaissance allegorical art.
Inscriptions(Latin)
FATUM TEMPUS PARCA FAMA Noctis ut in medio curas et corpora soluit Prostratis terra membris vis languida Somni: Sic Mors cuncta vorat, relegunt exordia lapsu Sic Parcae. Sic Tempus edax. Sic cana Vetustas. 4
Translation
FATUM (Fate) TEMPUS (Time) PARCA (Fates) FAMA (Fame) As in the midst of night, the languid power of Sleep relaxes cares and bodies, With limbs prostrate upon the ground: So Death devours all things, they gather back the beginnings in their fall, So the Fates. So devouring Time. So hoary Old Age. 4
Connected Texts
Ovid, Metamorphoses
The print directly visualizes the Ovidian concept of 'Tempus edax' (devouring time), which is explicitly named in the Latin inscription.
Collections
Provenance & Source
Object
Engraving
allegory
Digital Source
Unknown · Public domain
Linked Data
AI AI-cataloged fields generated by gemini-3.1-flash-lite-preview on April 14, 2026. Getty identifiers are AI-inferred and may require verification.