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# Titian, Allegory of Prudence
- URL: https://theparnassian.com/en/titsian-allegoriia-blagorazumiia/
- Published: 2021-07-31T08:30:07.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-01T05:40:47.000Z
- Author: Alexandr Radayev
- Tags: Coming Up, Art, London, Museums

Titian, Allegory of Prudence. The painting is usually read as a depiction of the three ages of man and the three tenses: past, present and future, a sign that prudence is acquired with the years. But who, in that case, are the dog, the lion and the wolf in this allegory? According to one version, in the painting Titian portrayed himself in old age, his grown-up son and his young nephew. Many scholars disagree, though what is there to disagree about? Look at Titian's self-portrait in old age in the Prado: he is the very image of the old man in the Allegory of Prudence.

The painting also bears an inscription:  
by learning from the mistakes of the past in the present, one may avoid harming one's future.

The painting belongs to the collection of the National Gallery in London; this year it has been taken off display and sent to the exhibition La forma del tempo at the Museo Poldi Pezzoli in Milan.