Cupid Taming Pan
c. 1600
Medium
Engraving on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Sheet: 27.6 × 40.3 cm (10 7/8 × 15 7/8 in.)
Classification
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
268478
Art Historical Context
**Cupid Taming Pan** is a captivating engraving by Dutch artist Jacob Matham, created around 1600. Matham, a prominent figure in the Northern Mannerist tradition and a close collaborator of master engraver Hendrick Goltzius, masterfully depicts the mythological scene where the cherubic Cupid subdues the wild goat-god Pan. This allegorical subject draws from classical mythology, symbolizing love's triumph over untamed nature and primal desires— a popular theme in Renaissance art that blended antiquity with moral commentary. Printed on luxurious ivory laid paper, the work measures 27.6 × 40.3 c...
About the Artist
Jacob Matham · 1571–1631
**Jacob Matham: Master Engraver of Haarlem** Jacob Matham was born on October 15, 1571, in Haarlem, in the Northern Netherlands, into a burgeoning artistic milieu. Following his father's early death, his mother married the renowned painter and engraver Hendrick Goltzius in 1579, who adopted the young Jacob and trained him rigorously in the workshop as his stepson and pupil. Matham's first signed ...