The Nymph Syrinx - Jean-Louis Grégoire (1840-1890)

Jean-Louis Grégoire is a French sculptor who studied at the Beaux-Arts. He exhibited at the Salon from 1867, and became a member of the Artistes Français. In his compositions, he is mainly interested in classical subjects, often linked to mythology.

Our terracotta sculpture represents Syrinx, a character known in Greek mythology and in Ovid's Metamorphoses. The young woman is shown here before her transformation into a reed, sitting on a stump near the banks of the Ladon. She asks the river nymphs to transform her in order to ward off the advances of the god Pan. In her left hand she holds the famous Pan's pipe, illustrating the instrument he made to communicate with her and win her heart.