The Pipes of Pan (painting)

Painting by Pablo Picasso

The Pipes of Pan

Artist| Pablo Picasso
Year| 1923 (1923)
Medium| Oil-on-canvas
Dimensions| 205 cm × 174 cm (81 in × 69 in)
Location| Musée Picasso, Paris

The Pipes of Pan (French: La flûte de Pan) is an oil-on-canvas by Spanish artist Pablo Picasso. Painted in 1923 during Picasso's classical period, the painting depicts two statuesque men of mythological origins.[1] Frequently acknowledged to be his cornerstone work during this era, the painting makes use of a large canvas and a classical color palette that are acutely reminiscent of the ancient world. The subjects which Picasso chooses to explore within this work– male Greek youth, musical pipes, as well as the Mediterranean setting– all hark back to classical ancient art.[2]

## Background

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This work was painted at the crux of Picasso's classical period from 1919 to 1929, in which he was greatly intrigued by classical art. At the time that he had painted The Pipes of Pan, Picasso was traveling extensively in Italy, and consequently drew inspiration for this painting in the Greco-Roman art he found there.[3] His admiration for such is evident in the pensive and motionless way he portrays his subjects, as well as the tactile yet unembellished background. Additionally, the subjects themselves are Greek by nature– the pipes held by the figure on the right are a clear reference to the pipes of Pan, the personified Greek god of “life in the periphery”– who essentially functions as the embodiment of peripheral attitude (free-ranging, and lustful but frustrated)[4] and pastoral life. The setting of the painting, too, is evidently Mediterranean by its sunny blue background.

## Controversy

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There has been known controversy in the past regarding the so-called “true nature” of the subject for this particular painting. At the era of this painting, Picasso, who was deep into his fascination with classical art, met Sara Murphy in 1921.[5] She was a beautiful and wealthy American expatriate who became flirtatiously involved with Picasso, their relations leading all the way up to the conception of this painting.[3] Infrared photographs of The Pipes of Pan taken in the 90s revealed an initial composition that included four total figures. Many art scholars believe that one figure was to be Venus, depicted as Sara, and that another figure was to be Mars, depicted as Picasso. However, a possible reason why this initial idea was scrapped was because Picasso's infatuation came to a head– perhaps Sara rejected him, and so he erased her from the painting composition.[6]

## References

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1. ^ "Picasso and the Spanish Masters". Arts & Collections. 2018-02-22. Retrieved 2018-12-07.
2. ^ Blunt, Anthony (1968). "Picasso's Classical Period (1917-25)". The Burlington Magazine. 110 (781): 187–194\. ISSN 0007-6287. JSTOR 875583.187-194&rft.date=1968&rft_id=https://www.jstor.org/stable/875583#id-name=JSTOR&rft.issn=0007-6287&rft.aulast=Blunt&rft.aufirst=Anthony&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:The+Pipes+of+Pan+(painting)" class="Z3988">
3. ^ a b Chalif, David J. (2004-12-01). "The Pipes of Pan". Neurosurgery. 55 (6): 1437–1440\. doi:10.1227/01.NEU.0000143149.14953.08. ISSN 0148-396X. PMID 15574231.1437-1440&rft.date=2004-12-01&rft.issn=0148-396X&rft_id=info:pmid/15574231&rft_id=info:doi/10.1227/01.NEU.0000143149.14953.08&rft.aulast=Chalif&rft.aufirst=David+J.&rft_id=https://academic.oup.com/neurosurgery/article/55/6/1437/2732552&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:The+Pipes+of+Pan+(painting)" class="Z3988">
4. ^ Thomas, Oliver R. H. (2012-10-26), "Pan", in Bagnall, Roger S; Brodersen, Kai; Champion, Craige B; Erskine, Andrew (eds.), The Encyclopedia of Ancient History, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., pp. wbeah17320, doi:10.1002/9781444338386.wbeah17320, ISBN 978-1-4443-3838-6
5. ^ Krauss, Rosalind (1995). "Picasso, Sara, and the Subject in/of Reading". The Art Bulletin. 77 (1): 24. doi:10.2307/3046077. JSTOR 3046077 - via CAA.
6. ^ Kimmelman, Michael (April 21, 1994). "A Face in the Gallery of Picasso's Muses is Given a New Name: New Name on the List of Picasso Muses". New York Times. Retrieved May 26, 2020.

* v
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Pablo Picasso

Periods|

* Blue (1901–1904)
* Rose (1904–1906)
* African (1907–1909)
* Cubism (1910–1919)

Lists of works|

* 1889–1900
* 1901–1910
* 1911–1920
* 1921–1930
* 1931–1940
* 1941–1950
* 1951–1960
* 1961–1970
* 1971–1973
* Picasso's written works

Paintings|

* Le petit picador jaune (1889)
* Science and Charity (1897)
* Le Moulin de la Galette (1900)
* The Appointment (1901)
* Child with a Dove (1901)
* La Gommeuse (1901)
* Yo, Picasso (1901)
* Portrait of Jaime Sabartés (1901)
* The Blue Room (1901)
* Femme aux Bras Croisés (1901–1902)
* Old Jewish Man with a Boy (1903)
* The Old Guitarist (1903)
* La Vie (1903)
* Portrait of Angel Fernández de Soto (1903)
* Portrait of Suzanne Bloch (1904)
* The Actor (1904–1905)
* Woman Ironing (1904)
* Girl in a Chemise (c. 1905)
* Acrobat and Young Harlequin (1905)
* Family of Saltimbanques (1905)
* Garçon à la pipe (1905)
* Girl on a Ball (1905)
* Les Noces de Pierrette (1905)
* Au Lapin Agile (1905)
* Young Girl with a Flower Basket (1905)
* Famille d'acrobates avec singe (1905)
* Boy Leading a Horse (1905–1906)
* Portrait of Gertrude Stein (1905–1906)
* Head of a Young Woman (1906)
* Les Demoiselles d'Avignon (1907)
* Woman with a Fan (1908)
* Brick Factory at Tortosa (1909)
* Woman with a Fan (1909)
* Femme et pot de moutarde (1910)
* Girl with a Mandolin (1910)
* Portrait of Ambroise Vollard (1910)
* Portrait of Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler (1910)
* The Accordionist (1911)
* Le pigeon aux petits pois (1911)
* La Coiffeuse (1911)
* Violon et Raisins (1912)
* Bottle, Glass, Fork (1912)
* Ma Jolie (1912)
* Arlequin (1913)
* Ma Jolie (1914)
* Three Musicians (1921)
* Reading the Letter (c. 1921)
* The Pipes of Pan (1923)
* The Three Dancers (1925)
* Woman in a Red Armchair (1929)
* Le Repos (1932)
* Girl before a Mirror (1932)
* La Lecture (1932)
* Le Rêve (1932)
* Nude, Green Leaves and Bust (1932)
* Nude in a Black Armchair (1932)
* Femme à la montre (1932)
* Two Girls Reading (1934)
* Jeune Fille Endormie (1935)
* Guernica (1937)
* Portrait of Dora Maar (1937)
* Woman in Hat and Fur Collar (1937)
* The Weeping Woman (1937)
* Girl with a Red Beret and Pompom (1937)
* Femme au béret et à la robe quadrillée (Marie-Thérèse Walter) (1937)
* Maya with Doll (1938)
* Woman's Head (1939)
* Dora Maar au Chat (1941)
* The Charnel House (1944–1945)
* Nature morte au poron (1948)
* Massacre in Korea (1951)
* Les Femmes d'Alger series (1955)
* Las Meninas (1957)
* The Fall of Icarus (1958)
* Bust of a Seated Woman (Jacqueline Roque) (1960)
* Jacqueline (1961)
* Femme au Chien (1962)

Sculptures|

* Bust of a Woman (Marie-Thérèse) (1931)
* Tête de femme (Dora Maar) (1941)
* Bull's Head (1942)
* Baboon and Young (1951)
* Figure découpée (1963, 1964, 1965)
* Chicago Picasso (1967)
* Sylvette (1970)

Etchings|

* Vollard Suite (1930–1937)
* Minotaur Kneeling over Sleeping Girl (1933)
* Minotauromachy (1935)
* The Dream and Lie of Franco (1937)
* 347 Series (1968)

Drawings|

* Girl from Majorca (1905)
* Don Quixote (1955)
* Toros y toreros (1961)

Lithographs|

* Le Taureau (1945–1946)
* Dove (1949)

Murals|

* Regjeringskvartalet murals

Plays|

* Desire Caught by the Tail (c. 1941)
* The Four Little Girls (c. 1947–1948)

Poetry|

* Picasso's written works

Ballet designs|

* Picasso and the Ballets Russes
* Parade
* The Three-Cornered Hat
* Pulcinella
* Le Train Bleu
* Mercure

Museums|

* Musée Picasso (Paris)
* Musée Picasso (Antibes)
* Museu Picasso (Barcelona)
* Museo Picasso Málaga (Malaga)
* Museo Casa Natal (Malaga)
* Château de Boisgeloup (Normandy)

Partners|

* Fernande Olivier
* Marie-Thérèse Walter
* Dora Maar
* Françoise Gilot
* Geneviève Laporte

Family|

* Olga Khokhlova (first wife)
* Jacqueline Roque (second wife)
* Maya Widmaier-Picasso (daughter)
* Claude Picasso (son)
* Paloma Picasso (daughter)
* Diana Widmaier Picasso (granddaughter)
* Marina Picasso (granddaughter)
* Bernard Ruiz-Picasso (grandson)
* José Ruiz y Blasco (father)

Residences
(France)|

* Bateau-Lavoir (Montmartre Paris)
* Villa La Vigie (Juan-les-Pins, Summer 1924)
* Château de Boisgeloup (Gisors, 1930–1937)
* Château of Vauvenargues (Vauvenargues, 1958–1962)
* Villa La Californie (Cannes, 1955–1961)
* Château de Vie (Mougins, 1961–1973)

Films and
television about|

* Visit to Picasso (1949)
* Guernica (1950)
* The Mystery of Picasso (1956)
* The Adventures of Picasso (1978)
* Surviving Picasso (1996)
* Picasso: Magic, Sex & Death (2001)
* Modigliani (2004)
* Genius (2018 TV series)

Related|

* Carles Casagemas
* Carl Nesjar
* Lydia Corbett
* Lump (dog)
* Fundación Picasso
* Picasso. In the heart of darkness (1939–1945) (2019–2020 exhibition)
* Picasso & Lump (2006 book)
* Picasso referendum of Basel
* Theft of The Weeping Woman from the National Gallery of Victoria
* Portrait of Pablo Picasso (1915 painting)
* "If I Told Him: A Completed Portrait of Picasso" (1924 poem)
* The Picasso Summer (1969 film)
* Woman, Bird, Star (Homage to Pablo Picasso) (1973 painting)
* "Pablo Picasso" (1976 song)
* The Blue Guitar (1977 etchings)
* Picasso at the Lapin Agile (1993 play)
* Picasso (crater)

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