Evening

Pan was the Greek god of woods and fields, flocks and herds. In Greek pan means all, and in ancient mythology there was a belief that he pervaded all things. His home was Arcadia, a pastoral paradise where he presided over the satyrs and maenads who also formed part of the retinue of Bacchus. Here he is depicted in a pose derived from Michelangelo, playing the syrinx, or graduated reed pipes. His pointed ears, horns, and goat legs are clearly visible as are his typically coarse and rustic features. The subject would have appealed to Paton who established a reputation as one of the pre-eminent fairy painters of his day, with such masterpieces as The Quarrel and The Reconciliation of Oberon and Titania (both in The National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh). His imagination was fired by Celtic and classical myth: Lewis Carroll was an admirer, as was Queen Victoria, who later commissioned an altarpiece from him (see note to lot 298).