Group of statues - Chronos and Lachesis, Allegory of Mortality and Eternity

Of the great masters of late baroque South German sculpture, Simon Troger (1683–1768) was held in particular esteem by his contemporaries. He was commissioned by persons of the highest rank, and made many of his works for Elector Maximilian III of Bavaria (1727–1777). A feature of his work which marks him out from other craftsmen is his choice of combination of noble and exotic materials. This is also true for this composition, which is also remarkable for its subject. The choice of subject and the artistic formulation of the two figures, seated side by side, express a curious duality of contrapuntal but mutually interdependent ideals and visions. The old, bearded male figure Chronos is the embodiment of the passage of time, as indicated by his traditional attributes – hour-glass and scythe with a wheel, symbols of the inexorability of death. The ancient goddess seated to his left, fixing him with her gaze is Lachesis, the embodiment of timeless, mortality-defying “eternal” female beauty this is indicated by the attribute held in her raised right hand, the snake biting its own tail, the symbol of eternal truth. The main figures are accompanied by three putti, two hovering in the air and one lying in the foreground, and the composition is framed by a pedimented back wall with drapery. An analogous composition, with similar formulation, also by Simon Troger, is held in the Tiroler Landesmuseum in Innsbruck.