Claude Lorrain etched this allegorical scene in 1662, late in a printmaking career that had largely given way to painting commissions by then; only a handful of his more than forty known etchings date from after 1650. Set among ruined antique buildings, the print personifies Time as a winged old man playing a harp while Apollo dances with four women representing the Seasons. The stylized, almost theatrical arrangement of the figures contrasts with the more naturalistic rendering of the trees and architecture receding into the distance, a hallmark of Lorrain's mature landscape compositions. Impressions are held by museums including the Art Institute of Chicago and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Printed edge to edge on a soft, durable woven area rug with a comfortable, non-slip feel.
