Pan and Syrinx n.d.

Georg Wechter made this print of Pan and Syrinx using etching, but we don’t know exactly when. The story of Pan and Syrinx comes from Ovid’s "Metamorphoses," a popular source for artists since the Renaissance. The image shows the nymph Syrinx fleeing from Pan, a figure with human and goat-like features. Syrinx is turning into reeds to escape Pan’s unwanted advances. To understand this work in its historical context, we can explore several avenues. What did the story of Pan and Syrinx mean at the time this print was made? How did ideas about gender and sexuality influence the representation of this myth? How was Ovid understood, used, and taught in the period? By researching the artist, the cultural meanings of classical mythology, and the social history of gender, we can begin to understand this print not just as an illustration, but as a product of a specific time and place.