Bronzino reconsidered

On reflection, there is no ambiguity here. The black eye of the female Folly indicates that she is symbolically blind to the carnality of Venus and Cupid. She is trying to protect herself from reality by holding up a cloth as a screen. Time is savagely wrenching the screen from her grasp, forcing her to see what is going on. His message: indulge while you may, a sentiment calculated to please the amorous and humanist King Francis I of France, for whom this magnificent painting was intended as a gift. It might also have been a subtle Italian hint that there are better things to do with a king's life than fighting to become Holy Roman Emperor!