Pan and Syrinx c. 1680 - 1684

This tapestry is a product of the Manufacture Royale des Gobelins, a tapestry workshop of the French Royal family. It depicts the story of Pan and Syrinx, a tale drawn from Ovid’s Metamorphoses. What might such a story mean in the hands of royal weavers? The tale is one of sexual pursuit and transformation: the nymph Syrinx flees Pan’s advances and is turned into reeds to escape him. But Pan, undeterred, cuts the reeds and fashions them into his pipes. Here, the female figure is central, albeit unwilling, in this act of artistic creation, yet she is denied agency in the process. The tapestry offers a window into historical attitudes towards gender, desire, and power. While appearing decorative, pieces such as these were integral to the construction of royal identity and the consolidation of cultural narratives. In what ways do these tapestries maintain, or depart from, traditional representations of women, nature, and artistic inspiration?