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Pan and Syrinx
About the Artwork
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.
Inscriptions
Signed lower center: "De Troy 1720"
Provenance
1973-: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio 1973: (Herner Wengraf/Old Masters Galleries, London, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) 1973: (Christie’s, London, sale, June 29, 1973, no. 93, sold to Herner Wengraf) Untiel 1973: George Ortiz [1927-2013], Geneva, consigned to Christie’s After 1934-before 1973: Graziella Patiño de Ortiz-Linares [b. c. 1908-1980], to her son, George Ortiz 1934-: Page?1 1934: (Galerie Charpentier, Paris, Chaix d’Est-Ange sale, Dec. 11, 1934, lot 46, sold to “Page”) 1923-1934: Family of Gustave Chaix d’Est-Ange III, consigned to Galerie Charpentier 1917-1923: Gustave Chaix d’Est-Ange III [1863-1923], by descent to his family 1882-1917: Jeanne Sipière Chaix d’Est-Ange [1843-1917], to her son, Gustave Chaix d’Est-Ange III
Exhibition history
Year in Review: 1973. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 30-March 17, 1974).
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Jean François de Troy (French, 1679–1752)
- Date
- 1720
- Medium
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 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.)
- Type
- Painting
- Classification
- Painting
- Department
- European Painting and Sculpture
- Credit line
- Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund
- Accession no.
- 1973.212
More by Jean François de Troy in museum collections
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Open-access museum record · AT-00009208
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