Two Cupids Wrestling Pan (Pan Vancu par les Amours) 1692

Curator: We’re now looking at a print titled "Two Cupids Wrestling Pan," created in 1692 by Antoine Coypel. It’s part of the collection here at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Editor: It's feisty! Like a Renaissance bar brawl, but with cherubs and…a satyr? He looks pretty annoyed to be tackled by toddlers with wings. Curator: Precisely. Coypel renders this scene in a classical style, but the baroque dynamism is undeniable. Notice the swirling lines and the composition, pushing the figures towards the viewer. This imbues the print with a certain raw energy. Editor: The lines feel frantic, almost itchy. I keep wondering what Pan did to deserve this double beatdown. He looks genuinely put out. Perhaps he was a bit naughty? I get the sense that everything is about to fall over any second now. Curator: The allegory suggests the triumph of love, represented by the cupids, over Pan, a symbol of base desires and untamed nature. Consider how Coypel uses light and shadow. He does a fabulous job of directing our gaze through contrasts to create a kind of drama. Editor: Yeah. He might need a serious chiropractic session after this encounter. Still, there's a playfulness. The little guys may look angelic but don’t let those baby faces fool you. And what’s so wild about Pan? Is he some poor hairy dude just trying to vibe in the forest? Curator: The print does open avenues for broader discussions about virtue, desire, and perhaps societal expectations. It speaks to love’s ability to overcome or tame primal urges. Editor: Hmm. Coypel leaves us guessing and it all adds to the enduring power of the image, doesn’t it? Thanks for making it make a little more sense. Curator: Thank you. The dialogue only scratches the surface, as always. This drawing really encourages you to question interpretations.