Paris: Encounter with a Faun and Nymphs

In Greek mythology, Pan is the god of shepherds and their flocks, the god of pastoral music and amusements. In his later incarnation in Roman mythology, he was called Faun. His image is usually presented as a creature with the lower half of a goat and the upper half of a man with goat horns and a goat's beard. He is the son of the god Hermes and the mortal Penelope.

According to the myth, when his mother gave birth to him and saw his terrifying appearance, she was terrified and fled. Pan was a wonderful musician, living in desolate places, mountains, groves and forests. Pan's birthplace, Arcadia, located on the Peloponnese peninsula, was surrounded in the classical period by an almost mythical aura, of a wild region.

Pan is described as a great womanizer who spent most of his time chasing nymphs. Nymphs are spirits of nature who represented seas, rivers, forests, meadows, or caves. They were described as beautiful, young maidens who loved music and dancing.

Pan fell in love with the nymph Sirix, but she refused his advances. In an attempt to keep Pan away from the nymph, the gods turned her into a hollow reed. Pan, in his grief, cut the reeds into pieces of different lengths and made a flute out of them. As his frustrated sigh passed over

The reeds produced a beautiful lamenting sound and so they were his flute. Not only was Pan identified with music, he was also the master of the sounds of nature, the echoes of the hills, the howling of the wind, and the roar of beasts of prey.

Pan's character embodied extreme contrasts. Alongside gentleness and compassion for the herds under his care, he was also known as a hunter, the "slayer of animals," who identified prey with his hawk's eye. Moreover, he was able to sow panic among humans and animals alike, thus transforming gentle souls into wild and savage creatures. He inspired peace and joy and, on the other hand, sowed chaos and madness.

A journey following Pan in Paris

After we met Pan (Paun) and the nymphs, we will follow them in Paris.

The Louvre Museum

The sculpture is the work of James Pradier and was exhibited at the Salon of Painting and Sculpture in Paris in 1834. The faun holds a nymph whose head is crowned with flowers and leaves. The faun reveals her nakedness as she unsuccessfully defends herself. Their faces express laughter. Both figures are shown on a human scale.

The sculpture caused a scandal for both clear ethical and aesthetic reasons. The artist moves away from the ideals of the neoclassical movement and approaches the bold style of the romantic movement: the emphasis is on a storm of emotions. The artist indulges in false modesty and presents an erotic picture of the relationship between a man and a woman.

Pradier's sculpture inspired other artists. Here are some examples:

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Luxembourg Gardens

The statue depicts a naked faun, dancing and playing a flute. The right leg is raised while the left leg smashes a wine glass that is underneath it.

The statue was exhibited at the World's Fair in 1855. During it, the statue received the Grand Prize for Sculpture and the Legion of Honor.

The appearance of the Faun underwent real changes over time. In early archaic representations, he was depicted as a goat walking on its hind legs and ravishing and debauching merrily, sometimes with an erect penis. This image gradually faded, and the Faun took on human characteristics. He was often depicted as a young and handsome god whose animal nature was reduced to a pair of tiny horns, pointed ears, and a modest tail.

The Faun in the Luxembourg Gardens is not the fearsome, wild, instinctive god but a more refined and accessible one.

Want to visit the Luxembourg Gardens to see the statue I wrote about?

You are invited to read the article about Luxembourg Gardens, which contains, among other things, a hiking trail in this wonderful garden, which will help you discover its secrets.

Chatelet Square La place du Châtelet

The Place de la Chatelet and its two theaters were inaugurated in 1862 as part of the great renovation program of Paris. The two theaters are identical in appearance: the “Théâtre de la Ville” and the “Théâtre de la Chatelet”.

On May 29, 1912, on the stage of the “Chatelle Theater”, the dance “The Afternoon of a Faun” was performed.

There was great excitement in the hall that evening. The dancers were members of the Diaghilev Ballets Russes, the soloist and choreographer was the legendary dancer Vasily Nijinsky, the inspiration for the dance was the poem “The Afternoon of a Faun” by the poet Stephane Mallarme and the music by the composer Claude Debussy.

Mallarmé's poem is considered the pinnacle of his work and one of the highlights of symbolist poetry.

Based on Mallarmé’s poem, composer Claude Debussy wrote his orchestral work “Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun.” Debussy was a musical revolutionary. His strength was not in drums and trumpets but in his attention to elusive, poetic feelings. “The music of this prelude,” Debussy explained, is:

A very free illustration of Mallarmé's poem... This is first and foremost a sequence of situations in which Paon's desires and dreams move.

The audience in the hall asked themselves: How would the young Russian Nijinsky (23 years old) express the spirit of the giants of French art in his dance?! What would his perception be?

No one imagined what was about to happen…

The screen went up…

A faun lies on a raised mound, plays the flute, eats grapes, stretches, and explores the sensuality of his body.

The warm-washed cattle, still defying the heat,

No water will flow except for the flutes of the river.

In the damp grove of playing chords,

And all the wind whispering from the pair of reeds

And now spreads its sounds in showers of idleness

Translation: Dori Manor

The faun notices the nymphs:

Light, colorful flesh – floating in the air
I am dormant, sleeping with my ancestors.
Listen, I fell in love in a dream?!
Sleepy skeptic
The plot of ancient night has come to an end like a forest, only the trees now stand.

Translated by Yaron Margolin

While Mallarmé’s poem blurs the line between dream and reality (“Have I fallen in love with a dream?”), the dance presents the erotic theme as a real experience. Only the rough outlines of the poem survive in the dance: the faun, the nymphs who frighten him from his dreams, the lazy sexual atmosphere.

When the paun sees the nymphs, his lust is aroused and he runs towards them. In the pursuit of his female prey, wonderment turns to sexual desire.

The nymphs are frightened and flee, except for one nymph. The seductive nymph casts three veils, as if trying to penetrate the self-absorbedness of the paeon through her nakedness. The paeon tries to embrace her. The duet with the nymph is a collection of emotions: passion, fear, devotion, shyness, evasion, lust for control.

The nymph runs away, her veil falling and being left behind. The Faun lets her escape.

The faun takes off the scarf, returns to his place of sleep, hugs the scarf and, with a convulsive movement, a faint hint of masturbation, reaches satisfaction.

On a stage where sex was presented according to meticulous conventions, Nijinsky's direct language shocked.

The shock caused by the performance stemmed not only from the end of the dance.

No one imagined that a new form of dance art would be presented. The door was opened to a new look that was distinctly different from the classical. The 12 minutes of “The Afternoon of a Peacock” marked the birth of modern dance.

The movements of the Faun and the Nymphs were very far from classical ballet. The dancers move in a minimalist manner: no jumps, no leg lifts, no turns. The arm movements are angular. Nijinsky completely abandoned the virtuosity in dance and the classical technique that supported it. The dance “The Afternoon of the Faun” crammed into it the main points of modern ballet.

The audience sat spellbound for 12 minutes of the dance. When the curtain came down, a huge commotion broke out. Like a storm, cries of approval and disapproval erupted. But the enthusiastic and enchanted part had the upper hand. The curtain was raised and the dance was performed again.

The scandal

Before us was a “paun” who did not conquer his instincts, with disgusting movements of erotic bestiality and shameless movements. The audience will never accept this bestial reality (quote from the editorial article of the respected newspaper “Le Figaro” that appeared the day after the premiere).

News arrived that the chief of police in Paris had been asked to ban the next performance of the “Paun” as an indecent play. The news swept through Paris like a storm, and aroused great excitement. Thus Paris was divided into camps.

On the front page of “Le Matin”, a newspaper no less important than “Le Figaro”, an article appeared the next day signed by the famous sculptor August Rodin.

But in no role is Nijinsky so wonderful and revered as in “The Peon.” No leaps, no leaps…his whole body expresses what his spirit dictates. He has the beauty of ancient sculptures…I admire Nijinsky’s work and consider it a marvel of harmony…I wish…that all artists could come to study and commune with this display of beauty. His art is so rich and so varied that it borders on genius.

It is easy to imagine what emotions were aroused by the recognition of Nijinsky's work, coming from the mouth of the greatest sculptor of his generation...but the critics who had inevitably discussed the "Peon" did not want to be ridiculed and ridiculed, so they published another article in "Le Figaro" that was chilling in its cruelty and criticized Rodin's honesty and moral behavior.

It seems that this time the respected newspaper went too far… Rudin's followers, the most important figures of France In the field of art and literature, they came to his aid, and ultimately his opponents were silenced.

מParis From Constantinople to London to St. Petersburg and Berlin to New York, the “Paun” was the subject of debate. The worldwide publicity that was bestowed upon the “Paun” never returned.

“The Afternoon of a Peacock” has been immortalized in the history of dance. It is part of the repertoire of ballet companies and has also been wonderfully adapted by the greatest choreographers.

And finally…a riddle: Do you recognize a famous fawn in the following picture?

And for those who don't know the answer (and those who do), please put on headphones and discover the fawn...good luck!