Description
The work Love can do anything, but time defeats love is also known by the name El Tiempo Cortando Las Alas de Cupido .
Pierre Mignard was an important 17th century portrait painter of the French golden age. In this painting of 'Time Clipping Cupid's Wings' (1694), Mignard represents an allegorical concept of the effect of Time on Love (or rather falling in love) symbolized by the young Cupid. Time here is personified in Chronos (Father Time wielding a scythe) which finds mention in pre-Socratic philosophy. Chronos was also depicted in Greco-Roman mosaics as a man turning the Wheel of the Zodiac. Pierre painted this painting a year before his death, at the height of his career.
The narrative is that of the effect of time on the longevity of love, or even falling in love which is often mistaken for love. Pierre was not the only painter to explore this theme, there are several other interpretations of the same narrative. Some of them are given below.
Time Clipping Cupid's Wings is probably one of the strongest cries for help ever made during the 17th century.
It doesn't take much to understand that this image is meant to discuss the effect of time on the things we love, and although it's a grim and bitter subject, it's actually a very popular scene and quite a few interpretations have been made. Perhaps the most notable is a version by Anthony Van Dyck , which differs from this one in that it is slightly darker in tone and has a cupid that actually looks like a baby.
However, while Van Dyck was probably just letting off steam artistically, Pierre here was actually in the midst of a major tragedy in his life. See, the thing is, Pierre Mignard was a rival to Charles Le Brun, which was perhaps not the smartest move due to the fact that Le Brun was essentially the dictator of all artistic affairs in France at the time. He was in charge of all the royal commissions, as well as the French Academy of Art. Pierre, bold French revolutionary that he was, was the main organizer of the opposition to Le Brun's authority. However, this meant that most of his artistic projects were relegated to portraits and religious paintings, a good example being the Portrait of Louise de Kerouaille.
Then Le Brun died. Subsequently, Pierre acquired all the positions of Le Brunn. But unfortunately this was late in Pierre's career, and due to the smaller-scale nature of most of his works, he was not prepared to handle the larger projects that came with royal commissions. Pierre wanted to renovate the dome of the Hôtel des Invalides as a kind of culminating performance of his career.
However, the project encountered delay after delay. Five years later, still no progress would be made on the dome, and he himself would later die.
Pierre painted this painting a year before his death, at the end of his bitter career.