RUBENS (Petrus Paulus)
(1577-1640)
33. — Time disclosing religious Truth
Time is represented bearing in his arms a woman clad in white robes ; her right hand points upwards, her left is extended towards St. Matthew and St. Mark, who follow her with their gospels in their hands, treading under foot wordly Wisdom, personified by Socrates. Figures typifying, Idolatry, Superstition, Revenge, Obstinacy, and Controversy, fall prostrate, or fly before the power of Truth, under whose feet lies a vanquished dragon ; a lion, with a fox in his paws, is in the centre at the bottom of the picture, which is enframed by spiral columns supporting a cornice.
Panel, 25 1/2 in. by 36 1/2 in. Engraved by A. Lommelin. Mentioned in Max Rooses’ « L’CEuvre do Rubens », vol. 1, p. 59.
