Time Banished by Truth 1745 - 1810

This wash drawing, "Time Banished by Truth", was created by Jean Jacques de Boissieu, in the eighteenth century and is held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The drawing is structured around the central figures of Time, an old man on his knees, and Truth, represented by a classical bust being crowned. The artist uses a monochromatic palette of washes to create tonal gradations, giving form to the figures and architectural elements. The figures are arranged in a classical pyramidal composition. The semiotic weight of this arrangement is considerable. The vanquished Time symbolizes the transient, and the crowning of the bust representing Truth suggests permanence and intellectual enlightenment. The structural integrity of the pyramid directs our gaze upward, symbolizing the aspiration towards higher knowledge, a common Enlightenment theme. The artist's structured use of form and composition creates a stage where ideas about mortality, truth, and the pursuit of knowledge intersect within the larger cultural discourse of the Enlightenment.