Allegory of Impermanence (Old Coquete)

In this painting, Genoan artist Bernardo Strozzi, depicts an old lady sitting in front of a mirror, looking at her features in the hope of trying to recapture some of her faded beauty. The inspiration for this piece could have been taken from the classical poet Ausonius, who was popular in the 17th century, which also features a Venus-like character looking in a mirror. "I don't what to see what I am now, I cannot see what I once was" Ausonius' old woman says.

This painting is taken to grotesque extremes, the old coquete is choosing between the rose and the fleur d'orange, traditional symbols of love and marriage, as her servants mock her. Their youth and beauty are contrasted with her age. Its verisimilitude and the very concrete situation chosen turns this painting into a genre piece. The mood of the work is different in the reflection, the woman looks worried and seems to have had an epiphany. It is as if she is frozen as she faces eternity. This realisation, of the all encompassing power of time, lends the picture a psychological dimension, and reveals the dramatic conflict between man's wishes and his abilities.

Similar allegories on frailty of life were very popular in the 17th century. As in this painting, small details that carry symbolic meanings play a key role. Rose: a traditional symbol of fading youth. Fleur-d'Orange: the flowers of a bride. Marigolds are associated with funerals. The pearl could be seen to symbolise the eternity of a natural stone as compared to the fragility of human life.