Artwork Page for Pan and Syrinx

Details / Information for Pan and Syrinx

Pan and Syrinx

1720

Jean François de Troy

(French, 1679–1752)
Culture
France, 18th century
Medium
oil on canvas
Measurements
Framed: 123.5 x 159.5 x 12 cm (48 5/8 x 62 13/16 x 4 3/4 in.); Unframed: 106 x 139 cm (41 3/4 x 54 3/4 in.)
Credit Line
Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund 1973.212
Public Domain
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Location
215 French, German, and Dutch
Print

Description

Subjects drawn from classical mythology posed a challenge for painters: they demanded skill in depicting the human body in complex poses, as well as knowledge of ancient texts and an ability to interpret them imaginatively. Jean François de Troy’s rich colors and voluptuous figure types were ideal for depicting the sorts of mythological subjects favored by his elite patrons, which generally focused on themes of love. In a myth recounted in the Roman poet Ovid’s Metamorphoses, the nymph Syrinx fled from the lecherous advances of the god Pan. Trapped at the edge of a river, she begged for a way to escape, and the gods transformed her into reeds. Pan later gathered these reeds to form the pan pipes, the musical instrument forever associated with him.
A horizontally oriented oil painting depicts Pan, a satyr with a medium skin tone and goat legs, emerging from reeds on our left. He reaches toward Syrinx, a woman with a light skin tone. Her arms are outstretched, mouth open. At her feet, a man with a leaf crown reclines beside a spilling vessel. On our right, three nude women watch from the water against a lush landscape of trees and hazy blue sky.

Pan and Syrinx

1720

Jean François de Troy

(French, 1679–1752)
France, 18th century

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