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Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Il nudo maschile nella statuaria italiana: RICCIO: PAN

Speranza














After a model by Riccio, possibly reworked and cast by Desiderio da Firenze
Inkstand with a Faun, called “Pan Listening to Echo”
1530–40
Bronze with silvered eyes
Ashmolean Museum, Oxford
Cat. No. 23

This beautiful statuette exemplifies how later artists adapted Riccio’s models to fashion new compositions.

The nude figure holds a syrinx in one hand and sits with one leg tucked in and the other outstretched.

Pan holds his instrument close to his mouth but turns his attention elsewhere. .

Not an idealized shepherd, the figure bears the small horns, pointed ears, and tufted tail of a classical faun.

The basin on its thigh transforms the figure into an elaborate inkwell.

On a scholar’s desk, the classical, poetic Faun provided both the inspiration and the means for writing.

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