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Pan and Syrinx with River Gods and Nymphs
Pan and Syrinx with River Gods and Nymphs

Pan and Syrinx with River Gods and Nymphs

Pietro Mera (called Il Fiammingo) (Flemish (active in Venice), about 1571–about 1611)
Medium/TechniqueOil on copper
Dimensions30.8 x 39.7 cm (12 1/8 x 15 5/8 in.)
Credit LineAbbott Lawrence Fund
Accession number61.661
On View
On view
ClassificationsPaintings
Collections
Description
Small, finely wrought compositions on expensive copper supports invited close scrutiny. Europe's savvy, highly literate elite would have recognized the subject of this painting from the small figures in the background: the wood nymph Syrinx escaping her pursuer, Pan, by transforming herself into a bunch of reeds. Paintings of scenes from Ovid's Metamorphoses, which focus on the theme of transformation, are often found in Kunstkammer inventories. Pietro Mera, known as il Fiammingo (The Fleming), was one of a number of successful Northern artists living in Italy.
InscriptionsLower center: [...] RO ME[...]AProvenanceFebruary 3, 1961, anonymous sale, Christie's, London, lot 118, to Kaufmann [see note 1]. 1961, M. H. Drey, London; 1961, sold by M. H. Drey to the MFA for £750 [see note 2]. (Accession Date: September 20, 1961)

NOTES:
[1] The name of the buyer (probably Arthur Kauffmann, a London dealer) is annotated in a copy of the auction catalogue, where the painting was attributed to Francks.
[2] Accessioned as a work by Hans Rottenhammer.
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