The sculptor, Charles Vyse, is well known at WMODA for his nostalgic figures of flower sellers and gypsies who frequented the streets of London in the 1920s. Less familiar are his mythological subjects displayed in the Art Deco Gallery. However, he often escaped into a fantasy world portraying classical maidens and children playing with fauns. It all began with Pan.
In Greek mythology, Pan is the nature god of wilderness, woods and shepherds and is often associated with fertility and springtime. He was a companion of Dionysus/Bacchus and his drunken tutor, the satyr Silenus. His Roman counterpart was known as Faunus. Pan is generally portrayed as a half-human creature with the legs, hooves and horns of a goat, although some early representations show him in human form with a horse’s tail. Pan became a significant figure in the Romantic movement of Western Europe during the 19th century, where he represented man’s darker animal side and earthly sensual longing.
