Pan and Syrinx

In this scene taken from Ovid’s Metamorphoses, the nymph Syrinx is pursued by Pan. Rather than submit to his advances, she prays to the nymphs of the river Ladon to transform her into reeds. This work and its pair DPG 176, also displayed on this wall, were attributed to Flemish painter Gerard de Lairesse until cleaning in the 1940s revealed Hoet's signature.

Hoet was a Dutch artist influenced by the Italianate landscape painter Cornelis van Poelenburgh. Though not known to have travelled to Italy, he often depicted mythological and classical subjects. The Arcadian setting of the scene is emphasised by the Roman tomb in the right foreground