Nicolas Poussin was a leading painter of the classical French Baroque style, although he spent most of his working life in Rome. Most of his works were on religious and mythological subjects painted for a small group of Italian and French collectors. He returned to Paris for a brief period to serve as First Painter to the King under Louis XIII and Cardinal Richelieu, but soon returned to Rome and resumed his more traditional themes. In his later years he gave growing prominence to the landscape in his paintings. His work is characterized by clarity, logic, and order, and favors line over color. Until the 20th century he remained a major inspiration for such classically-oriented artists as Jacques-Louis David, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres and Paul Cézanne.
Paintings by Nicolas Poussin
The Adoration of the Golden Calf (1634)
The Adoration of the Golden Calf is a painting by Nicolas Poussin, produced between 1633 and 1634. It is held in the National Gallery, in London.
It depicts the adoration of the golden calf by the Israelites, from chapter 32 of the Book of Exodus. It was made as part of a pair of paintings (the other being The Crossing of the Red Sea) commissioned by Amadeo dal Pozzo, Marchese di Voghera of Turin, a cousin to Cassiano dal Pozzo, Poussin's main sponsor in Rome. By 1685 the pair had passed to the Chevalier de Lorraine and in 1710 they were bought by Benigne de Ragois de Bretonvillers. In 1741 they were bought from Samuel by Sir Jacob Bouverie, whose son William became the first Earl of Radnor. The Earls of Radnor owned the pair from then until 1945, when it was split for the first time and The Adoration of the Golden Calf bought by the National Gallery in London for £10,000, half of which was contributed by the Art Fund. (The Crossing of the Red Sea was bought in the same 1945 sale by the National Gallery of Victoria.) It now hangs in Room 19 of the National Gallery, where it and Poussin's The Adoration of the Shepherds were vandalised with red spray paint on 17 July 2011. The French-speaking vandal covered up most of the nude figures.
The Flight into Egypt (Poussin) (1658)
The Flight into Egypt is an oil-on-canvas painting by the French artist Nicolas Poussin painted in 1657 or 1658. It was originally kept in the Musée du Louvre, then was transferred to the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon.
The painting was probably inspired by a painting on the same theme by Italian Baroque painter Annibale Carracci.
A Dance to the Music of Time (painting) (1635)
A Dance to the Music of Time is a painting by Nicolas Poussin in the Wallace Collection in London. It was painted between c. 1634 and 1636 as a commission for Giulio Rospigliosi (later Pope Clement IX), who according to Gian Pietro Bellori dictated its detailed iconography. The identity of the figures remains uncertain, with differing accounts.
The painting is well known for giving its name to the A Dance to the Music of Time novel cycle, though this title is first seen in a Wallace Collection catalogue of 1913. Before that it was given titles referring to the Four Seasons. In the 1845 sale it was called La Danse des Saisons, ou l'Image de la vie humaine. The Bibliothèque nationale de France lists it with three different French titles.
The Massacre of the Innocents (Poussin) (1620)
The Massacre of the Innocents (French: Le Massacre des Innocents) is a 1625-1632 painting by Nicolas Poussin, showing the Massacre of the Innocents. It was probably commissioned by the Roman collector Vincenzo Giustiniani, probably in memory of the tragic fate of the Giustiniani children taken hostage by the Ottoman Empire in 1564. It remained in the Palazzo Giustiniani until 1804, when it was bought by Lucien Bonaparte. It then passed through several other hands before being bought in London by Henri d'Orleans, Duke of Aumale. It is now in the Musée Condé in Chantilly, France.
The Rape of the Sabine Women (Poussin) (1635)
The rape of the Sabine women is the subject of two oil paintings by Nicolas Poussin. The first version was painted in Rome about 1634 or 1635 and is now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, catalogued as The Abduction of the Sabine Women. The second, painted in 1637 or 1638, is in the Louvre in Paris, catalogued as L'enlèvement des Sabines.
The theme of kidnapping was very successful in Renaissance and Baroque art. Among the legendary episodes relating rapes, kidnappings or abductions may be mentioned those of Helen by Paris, of Europa by Zeus, of Deianeira by the centaur Nessus, and of Proserpina by Pluto; the latter was sculpted by Bernini (1621–1622).
Echo and Narcissus (Poussin) (1629)
Echo and Narcissus is an oil painting by French artist Nicolas Poussin, from 1627-1628. It measures 74 by 100 cm (29 by 39 in) and is held in the Louvre, in Paris.
The work derives from Greek Mythology. According to Ovid's Metamorphoses, the nymph Echo fell in love with Narcissus, but he rejected her. Nemesis, the goddess of vengeance, punished Narcissus by making him fall in love with his own reflection. At the place where he died grew the flower that bears his name: Narcissus.
Landscape with Polyphemus (1649)
Landscape with Polyphemus (Paysage avec Polyphème) is a 1649 oil painting by French artist Nicolas Poussin. It is held in the Hermitage Museum, in Saint Petersburg.
The painting refers to a Spanish literary work La Fábula de Polifemo y Galatea and Ovid's Metamorphoses. It was commissioned by French banker Jean Pointel and depicts characters from Greek mythology. In the foreground pictured are semi-nude nymphs watched by satyrs hidden in the nearby bushes. On green fields behind them people listen to music played on a flute by the Cyclops Polyphemus, who appears to be blended into rocky mountains in the background.
Plague of Ashdod (Poussin) (1630)
The Plague of Ashdod is also known as The Miracle of the Ark in the Temple of Dagon, by the French artist Nicolas Poussin. The painting represents a story from 1 Samuel in the Old Testament. The original painting currently hangs in the Louvre in Paris. Poussin was commissioned to paint The Plague of Ashdod by Fabrizio Valguarnera. Fabrizio Valguarnera was a Sicilian merchant who was put on trial for laundering money through the purchase of this painting; he also commissioned more than one version of this piece. Poussin painted this during a plague that took place in Italy from 1629 to 1631, which influenced his accurate portrayal of the epidemic.
Nicolas Poussin was a French artist who was born in 1594 in Les Andelys, Normandy. Poussin's life ended in Rome in 1665. During the time that Poussin began working on this commission of the Plague of Ashdod, there was a terrible bubonic plague outbreak in Italy from 1629 to 1631. Poussin was then living in Rome, which the plague actually did not infect at this time; however, Poussin was still influenced by this epidemic when creating the Plague at Ashdod. Many who have studied this painting by Poussin have been fascinated with his advanced knowledge of the nature of the epidemic. Poussin wrote his Observations on Painting after 1627. His writings and observations included his understanding of the epidemic. It had valuable information that gave insight to the plague; however, the text was never completed. In these writings, Poussin discusses Aristotle’s concept of loyalty. To describe people who lack loyalty, Aristotle used the example of family members who murder each other due to contagion. Poussin describes how Aristotle wrote about family members murdering each other because of the fear of disease. Poussin symbolized this lack of loyalty by portraying a man ripping a child away from the corpse of the baby's mother. This might possibly lead to this man's own demise just like that of a child so attached to his or her own mother would become infected with the plague and die as well. This lack of loyalty is shown all throughout this painting.
The Funeral of Phocion (1648)
The Funeral of Phocion is a 1648 landscape painting, also known as The Burial of Phocion, Landscape with the Funeral of Phocion and Landscape with the Body of Phocion Carried out of Athens, by the French artist Nicolas Poussin. Phocion was an Athenian statesman from the 4th century BC.
Three versions of the painting are known. These are now housed in The Louvre, Paris; National Museum Cardiff and the collections of the Glass House in New Canaan, Connecticut, United States.
Blind Orion Searching for the Rising Sun (1658)
Blind Orion Searching for the Rising Sun is a 1658 painting by French artist Nicolas Poussin. Done in oil on canvas, the painting depicts a scene in which the mythological figure Orion — having been blinded — searches for the rising sun.
The painting's scene was inspired by the 2nd century CE Syrian writer Lucian's retellings and spoofs on Greek mythology, including the Orion legend. Poussin painted Blind Orion on behalf of Michel Passart, a well-known patron of landscape painting. Poussin's work is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which considers the work one of Poussin's greatest landscape paintings.
The Battle between the Israelites and the Amorites (1625)
The Battle between the Israelites and the Amorites, Joshua's Battle Against the Amorites or Joshua's Victory over the Amorites is a c. 1625 oil-on-canvas painting by the French artist Nicolas Poussin, now in the Pushkin Museum, in Moscow.
It was produced as a pendant to Joshua's Battle against the Amalekites by the same artist during his time in Rome. He fell into dire financial straits after the 1625 death of his patron, the poet Giovan Battista Marino and cardinal Francesco Barberini (1597–1679)'s departure from the city – this forced him to sell both works. They were both acquired by Catherine II of Russia to be kept in Poussin's cousin Gaspar Dughet's home on via Paolina in Rome. The pair was split up in 1927.
Saint Cecilia (Poussin) (1635)
Saint Cecilia is a painting by Nicolas Poussin, from 1627 to 1628. It is held in the Prado Museum, in Madrid. It depicts Saint Cecilia playing a keyboard instrument, possibly a harpsichord. Two cherubs in front of her hold up a scroll with a musical score, whilst two angels sing in the background and a third cherub lifts a curtain.