Pan c. 16th century

Pellegrino Tibaldi rendered this drawing of ‘Pan’ in ink on paper. The vertical composition immediately draws the eye upwards, emphasizing Pan’s towering presence. The artist's manipulation of light and shadow across Pan’s muscular form gives it volume and tension. Notice the textural contrast between the smoothness of the skin and the roughness of the fur on Pan's legs, achieved through varied line work. This contrast serves not just an aesthetic purpose but challenges established meanings of beauty by blending human and animalistic traits. Tibaldi destabilizes the classical ideals that typically separate the civilized from the wild. The semiotic system at play uses the image of Pan, traditionally a symbol of nature and disorder, as a signifier. Here, it questions the values and categories set by Renaissance society. The drawing’s formal qualities and the themes explored are still relevant, inviting us to reconsider our own cultural constructs and aesthetic values.