Mythological Scene

about 1524

Medium

Oil on canvas

Dimensions

163.8 × 145.4 cm

Status

In Museum Collection

Collect24 Art ID

C24-137248

An array of enticing visual clues has given rise to many theories about Dosso Dossi's *Mythological Scene*, but no one has determined the painting's precise meaning, if the artist indeed intended for one to exist. The male figure on the right of the composition is the Greek pastoral god Pan, leading some scholars to refer to this work as the Allegory of Pan. Pan was a satyr, who in Renaissance allegories personifies lust. He owed his amorous reputation to his seduction of the nymphs by playing music on his syrinx, which he holds here in his left hand. The sleeping nude in the foreground may be the nymph Echo, who spurned Pan for Narcissus. The old woman at the center of the group is perhaps Echo's protector Gea (Earth), who sits above her and shields her from harm. The woman next to her, wearing armor over a green gown and enveloped by a billowing red cape, has yet to be identified. A group of *erotes* (winged gods of love) hover alongside the citrus trees. Some scholars argue that Dosso wished to illustrate a specific episode from a single myth, relating to the life of Pan, perhaps originating from the works by the ancient poets Ovid or Nonnus. The painting may in fact lack a un…