Apollo, Pan, and a putto blowing a horn, from a series of eight compositions after Francesco Primaticcio's designs for the ceiling of the Ulysses Gallery (destroyed 1738-39) at Fontainebleau

Giorgio Ghisi|Francesco Primaticcio

1560s · Engraving · Drawings and Prints

This engraving depicting the contest between Pan and Apollo is based on one of four frescoes—the other three represent groups of Muses—that surrounded a central depiction of Venus and the Fates on the vault of the Galerie d'Ulisse at Fontainebleau. Given the planetary symbolism of the ceiling, known today only through descriptions, prints, and drawings, it seems likely that the music making here is associated with the harmonies of the cosmos.

Artist

Giorgio Ghisi|Francesco Primaticcio

Date

1560s

Medium

Engraving

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1949