Chronos – the personification of time as a winged old
man with an hourglass and a scythe – was one of the most prominent and frequently
used symbolic figures in Early Modern art. We find him in painting and graphic art, in
sculpture, and in the decorative arts. The
exhibition presents Chronos and other personifications of time in prints from
the 16th to the early 19th century. His meaning in allegorical scenes could be
both negative and positive: either as a relentless destroyer of lives, beauty, and
works of art, or as a wise old man pointing out transience and reminding people
of essential values.
The exhibition uses works from the NGP’s Collection of Prints and Drawings to present the main thematic areas from the extensive iconography of Chronos – “Father Time”: the triumphs of time, time as the revealer and saviour of truth, allegories of the proper and improper use of time, time in satire (in William Hogarth’s famous prints), and others. The concluding section consists of a selection of New Year’s cards by Josef Bergler, which demonstrate how the tradition of Chronos remained alive even after 1800.
The exhibition uses works from the NGP’s Collection of Prints and Drawings to present the main thematic areas from the extensive iconography of Chronos – “Father Time”: the triumphs of time, time as the revealer and saviour of truth, allegories of the proper and improper use of time, time in satire (in William Hogarth’s famous prints), and others. The concluding section consists of a selection of New Year’s cards by Josef Bergler, which demonstrate how the tradition of Chronos remained alive even after 1800.
Curator: Petra Zelenková
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