Second Book: Daphnis and Chloe Sacrificing a Crowned Goat (Daphnis et Chloe emmenant le bouc, chef du troupeau, pour le sacrifier a Pan) Possibly 1937

Aristide Maillol made this drawing of Daphnis and Chloe leading a goat for sacrifice, using delicate lines of terracotta red against a pale ground. I can imagine him, the artist, coaxing the scene into being with this sparse yet evocative medium. It's interesting, isn't it, how a simple line can suggest so much? The tension in the figures' arms, the gentle curve of the goat's back… Maillol's work reminds me a little of other artists, like Picasso, who were also working with classical themes but trying to make them new. Each stroke feels deliberate, distilled to its essence. You could say Maillol’s showing us the core of feeling, the underlying structure of this ancient story. It’s about seeing the old in a new way, and maybe the new in an old way, sparking new thoughts and feelings in us.