The Complete Works of Philippe Smit
by Andreas Narzt and Florence Castellani
PS 324 (P 1003)
Head of a Bearded Man and a Hand Holding a Panpipe, Study
Alternate titles: Etude pour L'après-midi d'un faune; Head of a Faun
c.1929–30
Pencil on paper
21 5/16 x 16 3/8 in. (54 x 41.5 cm) (sight size)
Signed with initials lower right: Ph.S.
On the back: two metal plates: Mme Pitcairn and 1003 and a small label: Mad. Pitcairn [handwritten]/ 1003 [printed] on the frame lower left.
Study of the faun for the large painting The Afternoon of a Faun.
Private collection, USA
Inventories
Inv. Les Pleignes, P. Damidot, 1938, LNC archives: no. P 1003: p. 5, couloir d'entrée, Dessin à la pierre noire par Philippe Smit./ Etude pour l'après-midi d'un faune. 400 [FRF].
Inv. Pitcairn, n.d. [c.1957], n.p., LNC archives: no. P 1003 F: Mrs. Theodore Pitcairn, Head of Man (study for: The Afternoon of a Faun), Drawing, 27 1/2 x 21 1/2 [in.].
Provenance
Exhibitions
The Museum of Fine Arts, Springfield, Massachusetts, Philippe Smit, An Exhibition of Works by a Twentieth Century Dutch Master, December 01–29, 1957, no. 25, ill. b/w, as Head of a Faun, Drawing - Circa 1930, 28 1/2 x 22 1/2 [in.]
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, Collection of the Rev. and Mrs. Theodore Pitcairn, June 17–September 15, 1960, no. 47, 28 1/2 x 22 1/2 [in.], 1930, Head of a Faun, 11-1960-47 (title and n° on receipt of return).
Literature & Primary Sources
Niehaus, Kasper. Philippe Smit, unkown genius. Revised and edited by Marjorie Bell. Typescript, 1955, p. 28, as Etude pour L'après-midi d'un faune.
Niehaus, Kasper. "Tentoonstelling in Ver. Staten trok de aanacht: Philippe Smit, tegenpool der abstracte Kunst." De Telegraaf (Amsterdam), 08-01-1958, p. 7 ("… studies van een centaur en hoofd van een faune …").
Record last updated January 30, 2017. Please note that the information on this and all pages is periodically reviewed and subject to change.
Citation: Narzt, Andreas and Castellani, Florence. "Head of a Bearded Man and a Hand Holding a Panpipe, Study, c.1929–30 (PS 324)." In The Complete Works of Philippe Smit. www.philippesmit.com/catalogue/entry.php?id=324 (accessed on May 9, 2025).