Time Banished by Truth
Medium
Pen and black and gray ink, brush and gray wash, over black chalk
Dimensions
16 x 13 1/4 in. (40.6 x 33.7 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Michael Hall Esq., in memory of Ebria Feinblatt, 2000
Accession Number
2000.518
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
Art Historical Context
"Time Banished by Truth is a captivating allegorical drawing by the French artist Jean-Jacques deissieu (1736–1810), a master 18th-century printmaking and draughtsmanship based in Lyon. Created using pen and black and gray ink, brush gray wash over black chalk, this 16 x 13¼-inch sheet exemplifies the refined techniques of the Rococo-to-Neoclassical transition. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum Art's Drawings and Prints, it was generously gifted in 2000 in memory of curator Ebria Feinblatt. The composition likely dramatizes the triumph of Truth over Time, featuring dynamic figures of men and women adorned with diadems and wielding weapons—symbols of power, divinity, and conflict. These elements evoke classical mythology, where Truth, often personified as a radiant female figure, dispels the ravages of Time, represented by an aged or winged male form. Boissieu's layered media create depth and texture: the underdrawing in black chalk sketches forms, while ink lines define contours and gray washes model light and shadow for emotional intensity. This undated work highlights Boissieu's skill in narrative illustration, blending decorative elegance with moral allegory popular in Enlightenment-era France. For visitors, it offers a window into how artists visualized eternal truths through intricate, intimate drawings, bridging antiquity and modernity.
About the Artist
Jean Jacques de Boissieu · 1736–1810
French, Lyons 1736–1810 Lyons