1574
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
The Triumph of Time is a 1574 ink by Philip Galle, a Renaissance work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This engraving is packed with strange, busy scenes. On the left, a winged figure plays a horn while a skeleton rides a horse. In the center, a giant tree holds a clock and a scale, with people climbing or hiding around it. Below, scattered tools, animals, and tiny buildings fill the ground. The sky is dark with swirling clouds. The title at the bottom, *Tempus Omnia et Singular Consumens*, hints this is about time eating everything—even the powerful. The artist used tiny details to tell a bigger story, like the skeleton holding an hourglass. Want to see how this was made? Look up engraving.
Philip (or Philips) Galle (1537 – March 1612) was a Dutch publisher, best known for publishing old master prints, which he also produced as designer and engraver. He is especially known for his reproductive engravings of paintings.
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