Pompeo Girolamo Batoni – Time orders Old Age to destroy Beauty Part 6 National Gallery UK

The composition presents a dramatic encounter between three figures set against a dark, rocky backdrop. A young woman, presumably representing Beauty or perhaps personifying a youthful ideal, stands centrally, her posture suggesting both vulnerability and resistance. She is draped in flowing robes of pink and white, the fabric clinging to her form and emphasizing her delicate features. Her gaze is directed downwards, though her hand is raised as if attempting to ward off an approaching touch.
To her right, an elderly man, embodying Old Age, advances with a gesture that appears both forceful and sorrowful. He reaches out towards the young woman’s face, his wrinkled skin and stooped posture conveying the passage of time and its inevitable effects. A staff is held in his left hand, a traditional symbol of authority and support, but here it seems to serve as an instrument of inevitability rather than assistance.
A winged figure kneels at the base of the scene, seemingly mediating between Old Age and Beauty. This individual appears to be representing Time itself, or perhaps a personification of its destructive power. He is partially draped in blue fabric, which contrasts with the warm tones of the other figures, creating visual separation. In his hands, he holds an hourglass, a clear symbol of time’s relentless flow and the fleeting nature of existence. His expression conveys a sense of melancholy resignation rather than malicious intent.
The artist has employed a strong chiaroscuro effect, using dramatic contrasts between light and shadow to heighten the emotional impact of the scene. The young woman is bathed in a soft, diffused light, emphasizing her beauty and innocence, while the figures representing Old Age and Time are partially shrouded in darkness, suggesting their association with decay and mortality.
The landscape visible through an opening on the left side of the composition offers a glimpse of a pastoral setting – trees and foliage rendered in muted tones. This serves as a visual counterpoint to the central drama, hinting at a world of natural beauty that is also subject to time’s relentless march. The overall effect is one of poignant reflection on the transience of youth and beauty, and the inescapable power of times passage.