King Midas at the Contest Between Apollo and Pan n.d.

This drawing, King Midas at the Contest Between Apollo and Pan, was made anonymously using pen and brown ink with brown wash over graphite. It depicts a mythological scene that touches on themes of power, judgment, and divine retribution. The story goes that King Midas, known for his greed, foolishly judged Pan, the god of the wild, to be a better musician than Apollo, the god of music, reason, and light. As punishment, Apollo gave Midas donkey ears. This tale would have been well-known in the culture in which the artwork was made. We can use primary sources from the time – literature, philosophical texts, and other artworks – to help reveal the precise time and place that this drawing was made. By studying the visual codes in the drawing, we can learn more about how the social structures of its time influenced its creation. What does the nudity of the figures signify? What social role did the patron of this artwork play in society? Such questions are vital to understanding art's place in society.