Ceiling decoration (detail)
by GIORDANO, Luca, Fresco
The picture shows one of the ends of the ceiling in the Galleria Riccardiana (opposite to the entrance) depicting the Cave of Eternity. On the left, behind the serpent of eternity, Fortuna is seen wearing a blindfold. Aeternitas has her head veiled and holds an orb in her hand, and a nude Natura is squirting milk from her breast. The old man seated in the cave is identified by the hourglass as Chronos. Around this group hover souls waiting to be born. To the right sit the three Parcae, who are receiving the ball of wool from which they spin the thread of life from the hands of a two-faced Janus. The winged youth with the burning torch is a genius of new life.
The scene can be interpreted as an illustration of eternity, which envelops the worlds of man and the gods.