Padre Tempo sul sentiero dei Triumphi. Note sulle raffigurazioni del Trionfo del Tempo nei manoscritti petrarcheschi del XV e XVI secolo

“Half-classical, half-medieval, half-Western, halfOriental, this figure illustrates both the abstract grandeur of a philosophical principle and the malign voracity of a destructive demon. It is precisely this rich complexity of the new image that explains the frequent appearance and diverse meaning of Father Time in Renaissance and Baroque art.” With these words, Erwin Panofsky introduces the fascinating and complex iconographic history of Father Time. In the chapter “Father Time” (Studies in Iconology: Humanist Themes in Renaissance Art, 1939), Panofsky highlights the extent of the contribution that Petrarch’s Triumphs made to the construction of this figure. Proof of this is the fact that, among the examples provided to demonstrate its evolution, no less than five are taken from illustrations in the Triumphs. In the general panorama of illustrations in the Triumphs, it is therefore possible to observe the complete transformation of this figure, which would later become dominant in subsequent illustrations. The aim of this essay is to reconstruct the evolution of this figure within the illustrations of Petrarchan manuscripts in Italy and France. My intention is to highlight which elements derive from the few textual indications present in Petrarch's chapter "Triumphus Temporis" and which have an origin outside the poem. This article also aims to illustrate instances in which illuminators depict Father Time with unpublished iconographic variants that, at first glance, are difficult to explain.