Pan and Syrinx 

Filippo Lauri rendered this drawing, Pan and Syrinx, with pen and brown ink. The nymph Syrinx, fleeing Pan, is depicted here transforming into reeds to escape the god's pursuit. Syrinx's desperate gesture—an outstretched arm, a plea for help—echoes through art history. We find it in depictions of Daphne fleeing Apollo, or even in the agonized figures of the damned in depictions of the Last Judgement. This gesture embodies a primal fear, an appeal rooted in the human psyche. The reeds themselves are an important symbol, a visual metaphor for transformation, and a poignant symbol of nature's embrace offering refuge from the crude advances of Pan. As we see here, symbols evolve across centuries and cultures. Each era interprets these ancient stories, reflecting a continuous dialogue between the past and present.