JACQUES DUMONT, CALLED “LE ROMAIN”, attributed to

PAN AND SYRINX

JACQUES DUMONT, CALLED “LE ROMAIN”
Paris, 1704 – 1781 Paris

Oil on canvas, original rococo frame
34.5 x 41 cm / 22.2 x 17.5 inches; with frame 46.5 x 53 cm / 28.7 x 24.8 inches

PROVENANCE
München, private collection

Do you know which book was among the most widely read by artists of the Baroque period? Not a treatise on art, but a poem — Metamorphoses by Ovid, an inexhaustible source of stories about transformation, desire, and escape.
This painting belongs precisely to that world.
Yet it does not reveal itself immediately.
At first glance, the scene may be read as a rare episode — Diana pursued by Alpheus. This seems convincing, as the central figure carries a quiver and arrows.
However, a closer look changes everything.
The key lies in the figure of the pursuer.
This is not a river god, as Alpheus is traditionally depicted, but a satyr — small horns are clearly visible on his head.
Which means we are looking at Pan, and at one of the most charged episodes of Ovid’s Metamorphoses: Pan and Syrinx.
The presence of a bow and quiver does not contradict this interpretation. In French and Italian Baroque painting — from Antoine Coypel to Roman masters such as Carlo Maratta (Chiari?) and Filippo Lauri — Syrinx is often associated with the circle of Diana and may be endowed with her attributes. This iconography can be traced back, among other sources, to an engraving by Hendrick Goltzius, where Syrinx is likewise shown with a quiver.
The figure on the right, observing the scene, likely represents Ladon — the river god and father of Syrinx. His presence heightens the drama: this is no longer merely a pursuit, but a moment under watch.
The composition unfolds as a sweeping movement in which pursuit and resistance merge into a single rhythm. This effect is particularly enhanced by the horizontal oval format — characteristic of late Baroque decorative painting in the age of Louis XIV and widely used throughout the mid-eighteenth century. Such works were intended not for grand ceremonial spaces, but for more intimate interiors, where refinement and intellectual play were especially valued.
The question of authorship deserves particular attention.
The painting was previously attributed to the school of Carle van Loo; however, this attribution appears overly general. The clarity of composition, the softness of modelling, and the decorative unity suggest a more defined artistic personality — a French painter deeply influenced by the Italian Baroque.
In this context, especially compelling parallels can be drawn with the work of Jacques Dumont, known as le Romain (1704–1781). Trained in Rome, he developed a style that combines classical clarity with refined decorative sensibility — qualities that resonate strongly in the present work.
This hypothesis is further supported by typology: the profile of the nymph corresponds to a type characteristic of Dumont, while the dense, painterly handling and soft modelling of forms closely align with his technique.
What we see here is a work addressed to a viewer capable not only of seeing, but of recognizing.
And it is precisely in that moment — between perception and understanding — that the painting truly comes to life.