Nicolas Poussin (1594-1665) The Triumph of Pan c.1635, pen and ink with wash over black chalk and stylus

This drawing of The Triumph of Pan is a copy of the oil painting held in the National Gallery in London. However, it is not known whether Poussin completed the drawing before or after the painting was made. It is far too carefully drawn to be a preparatory sketch; and it is an exact reproduction of the oil painting, so it is very likely that it was produced after the painting - for what reason we do not know.

The frolicking figures inhabit only the surface of the composition - this mirrors the shallowness of their impersonal behaviour: their drunkenness, their lust, and their singing and dancing in celebration of the god Pan.