Tapestry with detached border, depicting the three fates triumphing over the fallen body of Chastity , wool and silk.THE TRIUMPH OF DEATH or THE THREE FATES
The three fates, Clotho, Lachesis and Atropos, who spin, draw out and cut the thread of Life, represent Death in this tapestry, as they triumph over the fallen body of Chastity. This is the third subject in Petrarch's poem The Triumphs. First, Love triumphs; then Love is overcome by Chastity, Chastity by Death, Death by Fame, Fame by Time and Time by Eternity.
FLEMISH (probably BRUSSELS); c. 1510-20
Museum number 65-1866 [c. 2003]Tapestry 'The Three Fates' ('The Triumph of Death'), Flemish, early 16th century.The three fates, Clotho, Lachesis and Atropos, represent Death in this tapestry, as they triumph over the fallen body of Chastity. In mythology the Fates controlled the span of human life; Clotho was the spinner, Lachesis was the drawer of lots, and Atropos represented the inevitable end to life.
This is a fragment from a larger tapestry, from a series based on the poem <u>I Trionfi</u> (The Triumphs), written by the Italian poet Petrach between 1352 and 1374. The poem described a series of allegorical visions.