Focus on The Pipes of Pan (painting) and analyze the Controversy.
There has been known controversy in the past regarding the so-called “true nature” of the subject for this particular painting. At the era of this painting, Picasso, who was deep into his fascination with classical art, met Sara Murphy in 1921. She was a beautiful and wealthy American expatriate who became flirtatiously involved with Picasso, their relations leading all the way up to the conception of this painting. Infrared photographs of The Pipes of Pan taken in the 90s revealed an initial composition that included four total figures. Many art scholars believe that one figure was to be Venus, depicted as Sara, and that another figure was to be Mars, depicted as Picasso. However, a possible reason why this initial idea was scrapped was because Picasso's infatuation came to a head– perhaps Sara rejected him, and so he erased her from the painting composition.