The artist ventured here with spellbinding bravura into the bucolic world of satyrs and nymphs, attaining the effect of a deliberately unfinished easel painting. The satyr has finished playing his shepherd's pipe and sprawls out with hedonistic abandon as he listens to the beautiful youth take his turn on a pipe. The satyr may represent Pan or Marsyas, while the youth may be Apollo, Olympos, or Daphnis. None of the Classical myths provides an entirely consistent fit with the composition, but it evokes a gentle, idyllic contest. It may allude to the contrast between the passionate spirit of the Dionysian (as represented by the satyr) and the beauty and clarity of reason of the Apollonian (the youth), which, according to Renaissance and Baroque humanists, were the two opposing impulses of artistic creativity.
Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.
Open Access
As part of the Met's Open Access policy, you can freely copy, modify and distribute this image, even for commercial purposes.
API
Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API.
Use your arrow keys to navigate the tabs below, and your tab key to choose an item
Title:Youth Playing a Pipe for a Satyr
Artist:Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione (Il Grechetto) (Italian, Genoa 1609–1664 Mantua)
Date:1645–50
Medium:Brush with colored oil paint; paper partly saturated with oil; lined
Dimensions:16 x 21-1/16 in. (40.6 x 53.5 cm)
Classification:Drawings
Credit Line:Gustavus A. Pfeiffer Fund, 1962
Accession Number:62.126
Sir William Richard Drake (British); Christie's, London, Drake sale, May 24-5, 1892 (part of no. 415); Dr. Francis Springell; Sotheby's, London, June 28, 1962, no. 39
Morgan Library & Museum, New York. "Drawings from New York Collections: 1. The Italian Renaissance," February 23, 1967 - April 22, 1967.
Morgan Library & Museum, New York. "Drawings from New York Collections, II. The Seventeenth Century in Italy," February 23, 1967–April 22, 1967.
Philadelphia Museum of Art. "Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione: Master Draughtsman of the Italian Baroque," September 17, 1971–November 28, 1971.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Roman Artists of the 17th Century: Drawings and Prints (Athens and New York)," November 2, 1976–January 16, 1977.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Genoa: Drawings and Prints, 1530–1800," April 23–July 10, 1996.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Drawings and Prints: Selections from the Permanent Collection," January 12–April 4, 2004.
Drawings by Old Masters. Exh. cat. London: The Royal Academy of Arts, Diploma Gallery. London: Royal Academy of Arts, 1953, no. 136.
James Byam Shaw Old Masters Drawings from the Collection of Dr. and Mrs. Francis Springell, October 15 - November 11, 1959. Exh. cat. P. & D. Colnaghi & Co., 1959, fig. no. pl. XIV, no. 53, ill.
Die Weltkunst. Die Weltkunst, vol. 32, 1962, fig. no. no. 12, p. 15, ill.
Jacob Bean "Form and Function in Italian Drawings: Observations on Several New Acquisitions." in The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, vol. 21, no. 7, New York, March 1963, fig. no. pl. 9, pp. 235-36, ill.
Jacob Bean 100 European Drawings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: New York Graphic Society, 1964, cat. no. 34, fig. no. 34, ill.
The Minneapolis Institute of Arts Fiftieth Anniversary Exhibition 1915-1966, 1965-1966.. Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, 1965.
Jacob Bean, Felice Stampfle Drawings from New York Collections, Vol. II: The Seventeenth Century in Italy. Exh. cat. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Morgan Library & Museum, New York, 1967, no. 77, ill.
Ann Percy Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione. Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1971, fig. no. no. 64, pp. 96-97, no.64, ill.
Ann Percy, Anthony Blunt Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione: Master Draughtsman of the Italian Baroque. Exh. cat., Philadelphia Museum of Art (Sep. 17 - Nov. 28, 1971). Philadelphia, 1971, cat. no. 64, pp. 96-97, ill.
Jacob Bean (but catalogue not signed), The Metropolitan Museum of Art Roman Artists of the 17th Century: Drawings and Prints. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1976.
Jacob Bean, Lawrence Turčić 17th century Italian Drawings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1979, cat. no. 115, fig. no. 115, p. 86, ill.
Carmen C. Bambach, Nadine Orenstein, William M. Griswold, Allegra Pesenti Genoa: Drawings and Prints, 1530-1800 Exh. cat. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1996, cat. no. 37, fig. no. no. 37, Cover and p. 40, ill.
Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione (Il Grechetto) (Italian, Genoa 1609–1664 Mantua)
ca. 1638–1640
Resources for Research
The Met's Libraries and Research Centers provide unparalleled resources for research and welcome an international community of students and scholars.
The Met Collection API is where all makers, creators, researchers, and dreamers can connect to the most up-to-date data and public domain images for The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.
The Met's collection of drawings and prints—one of the most comprehensive and distinguished of its kind in the world—began with a gift of 670 works from Cornelius Vanderbilt, a Museum trustee, in 1880.
