Pan reclining at left with two standing satyrs, a large vase on a pedestal at right 1640 - 1650

Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione, also known as Il Grechetto, created this print, “Pan reclining at left with two standing satyrs,” using etching, a process involving acid to create lines on a metal plate. Castiglione lived in the Republic of Genoa. His prints often explore pastoral themes populated with mythological figures. The figure of Pan, god of the wild, shepherds and flocks, and rustic music, embodies the sensual abandon often associated with the pastoral. The satyrs that accompany him and the sheep to the right of the vase are all creatures of the wild. But what happens when we consider the setting? In the background, we see a seemingly idyllic scene by the sea. At the time this print was made, Genoa was a hub for trade in enslaved peoples. It is impossible to ignore the uncomfortable juxtaposition of carefree mythological figures with a seascape that would have also been a site of immense suffering. What does it mean to find pleasure in this image when it is irreducibly entangled with the economy of slavery?