Highlights

Description

According to Greek mythology, the Titan Cronus devoured his children because he feared to be overthrown by them. Only his son Zeus escaped this fate. Early on, he was equated with the god of time, Chronos. Ignaz Günther, the brilliant Bavarian sculptor of the Rococo period, depicts Chronos as a winged old man with a long beard. The scythe and hourglass symbolise the relentless passing of time and refer to death. Originally, the sculpture probably crowned the case of a clock. Günther portrays Chronos with mild and introspective features and thus differs from the gruesome and gory grim reapers of the late Middle Ages, who were usually depicted as skeletons.