Faun with a Flute

The work of Augusto Murer (1922–1985), known for his expressive monuments to the resistance movement in northern Italy, is represented by a number of works donated by the sculptor in 1982, following his personal exhibition. Outstanding among them is the statue ‘Faun with a Flute’. Turning to a subject from Classical Antiquity, Murer invests the mythological image with a modern resonance. The youthful body with its markedly elongated proportions does not accord with the ancient canons of beauty. The faun’s curly hair, the flute and the fingers holding it give the statue an especially ‘prickly’ contour, while the slight turn of the body prompts the viewer to walk around the piece. It seems that if the faun does indeed start playing his flute, then we will hear nothing but modern-day music.