Portrait of a Lady and a Boy, with Pan 1655-9
Oil on canvas
Presented by the Patrons of British Art through the Tate Gallery Foundation 1995
T06993
This painting combines portraits of individuals with mythological characters.
The figure to the left could be the god Pan but also displays some of the attributes of a satyr - goat’s legs, horns and horse’s ears. In either case, he would represent the theme of lust. The boy, who is painted as an individual, is presumably a family member, dressed up as Cupid, the god of love. We are left to work out the story, and what this might say about the status of the female sitter to the right.