Venus Entrusting an Infant to Time

"Venus Entrusting an Infant to Time" is a masterful allegorical drawing created by the renowned Venetian artist Giovanni Battista Tiepolo. This exceptional study employs the technique of pen and brown ink and brush and brown wash, meticulously layered over an initial preparatory sketch in black chalk, reflecting a sophisticated approach typical of the artist's finished graphic works.

The subject illustrates a dramatic and weighty mythological encounter between the classical goddess Venus and the winged, bearded personification of Time. The central focus is the poignant act of Venus, the goddess of love and beauty, handing an infant-likely Cupid or a symbolic representation of mortal life-to Time, suggesting themes related to mortality, the fleeting nature of worldly beauty, and the inevitable passage of existence. Tiepolo’s treatment of the figures, characterized by swift, fluid lines and carefully applied washes, captures a sense of dynamic movement and emotion that exemplifies the late Baroque and early Rococo styles of the 18th century.

Tiepolo effectively utilizes the tonal variations inherent in the brown wash to define volume, providing dramatic contrast and depth that elevates this piece beyond a simple sketch. The skillful interplay of light and shadow, achieved through the varying densities of the wash, emphasizes the musculature of the old god and the softness of the infant and the goddess. This important drawing offers significant insight into the artist’s compositional genius and is an invaluable part of the collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. As a historically significant work, high-quality reproductions and fine art prints of this drawing are widely available in the public domain for scholarly study and general enjoyment.