''An Allegory of Truth and Time'' is a 1584–85 oil on canvas painting by the

Italian Baroque Italian Baroque (or ''Barocco'') is a stylistic period in Italian history and art that spanned from the late 16th century to the early 18th century. History The early 17th century marked a time of change for those of the Roman Catholic religion ...

master

Annibale Carracci Annibale Carracci ( , , ; November 3, 1560 – July 15, 1609) was an Italian painter and instructor, active in Bologna and later in Rome. Along with his brother Agostino Carracci, Agostino and cousin Ludovico Carracci, Ludovico (with whom the Ca ...

, now on display in

Hampton Court Hampton Court Palace is a Listed building, Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. Opened to the public, the palace is managed by Historic Royal ...

as part of the

Royal Collection The Royal Collection of the British royal family is the largest private art collection in the world. Spread among 13 occupied and historic List of British royal residences, royal residences in the United Kingdom, the collection is owned by King ...

. It is not mentioned in any of the 17th-century biographical sources on Carracci's life and it is thought to have been in England by the early 18th century at the latest. The first definite reference to it dates to the mid 19th century, by which time it was in

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

's collection Daniele Benati, in ''Annibale Carracci, Catalogo della mostra Bologna e Roma 2006-2007'', Milano, 2006, p. 164. and thought to be by an unknown artist.

Roberto Longhi Roberto Longhi (28 December 1890 – 3 June 1970) was an Italian academic, art historian, and curator. The main subjects of his studies were the painters Caravaggio and Piero della Francesca. Early life and career Longhi was born in December 1 ...

and Hermann Voss assigned it its present attribution in the early 20th century. Its style is very close to that of the artist's work on the ''Lives of Jason and Medea'' frescoes at the Palazzo Fava in

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

, produced around 1584 with his relations

Agostino Carracci Agostino Carracci ( , , ; also Caracci; 16 August 1557 – 22 March 1602) was an Italian painter, printmaker, tapestry designer, and art teacher. He was, together with his brother, Annibale Carracci, and cousin, Ludovico Carracci, one of the fo ...

and

Ludovico Carracci Ludovico (or Lodovico) Carracci ( , , ; 21 April 1555 – 13 November 1619) was an Italian early-Baroque painter, etcher, and printmaker from Bologna. His works are characterized by a strong mood invoked by broad gestures and flickering li ...

.Donald Posner, ''Annibale Carracci: A Study in the reform of Italian Painting around 1590'', London, 1971, Vol. I, p. 29. For this reason it is sometimes argued that the canvas was commissioned by that palazzo's owner, Filippo Fava. Its style and composition are both close to a drawing for a ''Judgement of Paris'' (

Fogg Art Museum The Harvard Art Museums are part of Harvard University and comprise three museums: the Fogg Museum (established in 1895), the Busch-Reisinger Museum (established in 1903), and the Arthur M. Sackler Museum (established in 1985), and four research ...

), argued by some art historians to have been produced by Carracci as a preparatory for a lost or never-executed painting.

Iconography

Influences

One of the masterpieces of the painter's youth, it reflects his reaction to

Correggio Antonio Allegri da Correggio (August 1489 – 5 March 1534), usually known as just Correggio (, also , , ), was an Italian Renaissance painter who was the foremost painter of the Parma school of the High Renaissance, who was responsible for som ...

's style, a reaction which marked his paintings immediately after entering the art scene. Some argue that in this work that reaction is also filtered through the work of

Federico Barocci Federico Barocci (also written Barozzi) ( – 30 September 1612) was an Italian Renaissance painter and printmaker. His original name was Federico Fiori, and he was nicknamed Il Baroccio. His work was highly esteemed and influential, and foresha ...

Gallery

File:Annibale Carracci (con Ludovico e Agostino), Storie di Giasone e Medea, Palazzo Fava, Bologna.jpg,

Annibale Annibale is the Italian masculine given name and surname equivalent to Hannibal. In English, it may refer to : Given name * Annibale Albani (1682–1751), Italian cardinal * Annibale I Bentivoglio, (died 1445), ruler of Bologna from 1443 * Ann ...

, Agostino and

, ''Lives of Jason and Medea'', circa 1584, fresco, Palazzo Fava, Bologna File:BarocciSanVitale.jpg,

, ''Martyrdom of Saint Vitalis'', 1583,

Pinacoteca di Brera The Pinacoteca di Brera ("Brera Art Gallery") is the main public gallery for paintings in Milan, Italy. It contains one of the foremost collections of Italian paintings from the 13th to the 20th century, an outgrowth of the cultural program of ...

, Milan File:Tiziano - Amor Sacro y Amor Profano (Galería Borghese, Roma, 1514).jpg,

Titian Tiziano Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), Latinized as Titianus, hence known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italian Renaissance painter, the most important artist of Renaissance Venetian painting. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, near Belluno. Ti ...

, '' Sacred and Profane Love'', circa 1515,

Galleria Borghese The or Borghese Gallery is an art gallery in Rome, Italy, housed in the former Villa Borghese Pinciana. At the outset, the gallery building was integrated with its gardens, but nowadays the Villa Borghese gardens are considered a separate touri ...

, Rome

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allegory of Truth and Time 1585 paintings Paintings by Annibale Carracci Paintings in the Royal Collection of the United Kingdom 16th-century allegorical paintings Allegorical paintings by Italian artists