#thread of live

This modello, or detailed oil study, is one of a group of twelve that Giordano made in preparation for the ceiling frescoes in the Palazzo Medici Riccardi in Florence in 1682–5. This scene corresponds to that painted on one of the two short ends of the grand Galleria, in which Giordano presents a gathering of mythological figures associated with time and mortality. They are encircled by a serpent biting its tail, which symbolises Eternity. The crowned figure of Janus holds the fleece from which the Three Fates draw out and then cut the thread of life, while above them is Prometheus, the god of creation. The hooded figure in the background is the pagan monster Demagorgon. He receives gifts from Nature (in green) and Fortune (blindfolded). Behind them is the winged figure of Chronos, who represents Time.