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Delphi Complete Paintings of Nicolas Poussin (Illustrated)
The seventeenth century painter Nicolas Poussin founded the French Classical tradition, working the majority of his career in Rome. He specialised in history paintings, depicting scenes from the Bible, ancient history, and mythology, which are notable for their narrative clarity and dramatic force. Poussin was a man of contrasts; sensual, yet austere and intellectual, prizing reason, order and dispassion above all else. His art is a reconciliation and synthesis of these traits, setting an example of what would become the standard for a long tradition of academic art, continuing until the end of the nineteenth century. His influence was far-reaching, winning the approval of the Neoclassical masters, the Post-Impressionists and even modernists like Pablo Picasso. Delphi’s Masters of Art Series presents the world’s first digital e-Art books, allowing readers to explore the works of great artists in comprehensive detail. This volume presents Poussin’s complete paintings in beautiful detail, with concise introductions, hundreds of high quality images and the usual Delphi bonus material. (Version 1) * The complete paintings of Nicolas Poussin – over 300 images, fully indexed and arranged in chronological and alphabetical order * Includes reproductions of rare works * Features a special ‘Highlights’ section, with concise introductions to the masterpieces, giving valuable contextual information * Enlarged ‘Detail’ images, allowing you to explore Poussin’s celebrated works in detail, as featured in traditional art books * Hundreds of images in colour – highly recommended for viewing on tablets and smartphones or as a valuable reference tool on more conventional eReaders * Special chronological and alphabetical contents tables for the paintings * Easily locate the artworks you wish to view * Includes a selection of Poussin's drawings – explore the artist’s varied works * Features two bonus biographies – discover Poussin's artistic and personal life Please visit www.delphiclassics.com to browse through our range of exciting e-Art books The Highlights The Death of Chione (1622) The Andrians (1627) The Death of Germanicus (1627) The Martyrdom of Saint Erasmus (1629) Parnassus (1630) Plague of Ashdod (1630) The Adoration of the Golden Calf (1634) A Dance to the Music of Time (1636) The Israelites Gathering the Manna (1638) Et in Arcadia ego (1638) The Seven Sacraments (1640) Time Defending Truth against the Attacks of Envy and Discord (1641) Landscape with Polyphemus (1649) The Annunciation (1657) The Four Seasons (1660-1664) Apollo and Daphne (1664) The Paintings The Complete Paintings Alphabetical List of Paintings The Drawings List of Drawings The Biographies Poussin (1838) by Arthur Thomas Malkin Nicolas Poussin (1913) by Louis Gillet Please visit www.delphiclassics.com to browse through our range of exciting titles or to buy the whole Art series as a Super Set
- GenresArtArt History
609 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 7, 2021
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May 6, 2022
I started out liking Poussin but ending up loving his works, which are mostly religious centered. I like earlier artist but Veronese and Poussin's paintings show more details to the human characters and the rich color is magnificent!!
"The leading painter of the classical French Baroque style, Nicolas Poussin was born in 1594, close to the town of Les Andelys in Normandy. He was the son of a nobleman whose fortunes had been dashed in the Wars of Religion. Poussin’s early education was mostly devoted to Latin and letters, though from an early age he displayed a talent for art, which in 1611 was encouraged by the arrival of Quentin Varin, an itinerant painter visiting Les Andelys; Varin is now regarded as the great artist’s first master. Poussin’s later works reveal the influence of Varin, particularly in their storytelling, accuracy of facial expression, fine drapery and vibrant palette. In spite of his blossoming talent, Poussin’s parents were opposed to the prospect of having an artist for a son. Varin was clearly impressed with the capabilities of this precocious young man and urged Poussin to depart for Paris the following year, where he could realise his ambition to become a major artist. Aged eighteen, Poussin took this advice and fled his parents’ control."
"Marino took the young artist into his household and, when Marino returned to his native Rome in 1623, he invited Poussin to join him. At last, the painter could realise his ambition of reaching the Eternal City. After remaining in Paris to finish a few commissions, Poussin started his journey to Italy. On the way, he spent several months in Venice, before finally arriving in Rome in the spring of 1624. Alas, Poussin’s early years in Rome were plagued with difficulties. In spite of promising introductions to prominent Roman figures, little interest was taken in the young artist. After two months, Marino himself departed for Naples, where he died suddenly in 1625, leaving Poussin to fend for himself alone in Rome, and without the protection of his trusty patron. To supplement his living, Poussin was reduced to churning out derivative mythological and biblical paintings in the hope of luring hesitant buyers. At first these were largely inspired by his early Ovidian drawings, now transformed into large scale oil paintings."
"The Plague of Ashdod was painted during a bubonic plague outbreak that took place in Italy from 1629 to 1631, which influenced Poussin’s accurate portrayal of the scene. It narrates a story from 1 Samuel in the Old Testament and currently hangs in the Louvre in Paris. It was commissioned by Fabrizio Valguarnera, a Sicilian merchant, who paid for the painting with the proceeds of a theft of diamonds and was later put on trial for laundering money through its purchase. The first book of Samuel tells how the Philistines had stolen the Israelites’ Ark of the Covenant, bestowing it in the temple of their own god, Dagon. The next morning they discover that the statue of Dagon has collapsed and after restoring it, once more it falls to the ground and they are left stunned in terror. God then sends a plague upon “the men of the city, both small and great”. In the composition, we are presented with the view of a wide city square, with the Ark of the Covenant in the temple positioned to the left and before it the collapsed statue of Dagon. In the foreground a group of terrified Philistines is gathered, their postures and faces showing concern. The most prominent figure is the corpse of a young mother in the centre, her torso, breast and legs dramatically foreshortened, as one of her children lies dead beside her, its features obscured in shadow. The father is slouched over the corpses, holding his nose from the stench, stressing the horror of the scene. A surviving child seeks milk from the mother’s exposed breasts, though the father stops the child, fearing further infection. The poignant scene is yet another borrowing from Raphael, Plague of Phrygia, a fully developed drawing now in the Uffizi, which was in turn derived from a lost painting by the fifth century ancient Greek artist Aristides of Thebes. The canvas is charged with a palette of primary hues and white tones, arranged in an unremitting sequence across the foreground, heightening the tension. The skin tones of the figures are pallid and swarthy,conveying decay and inertia. The contours of the forms and the emotive postures are angular and severe in expression, perhaps signalling the artist’s first hand experience of a plague outbreak."
"This provides a guideline as to how he intended us to view the composition. Firstly, we should observe the figures to the left, those Israelites that are hungry and weak, about to give up with no notion of the imminent lifesaving manna. A notable figure of this group is a mother feeding her own elderly mother from her breast, which she withdraws from her infant. Light floods in from the left, bathing these foreground figures in a divine glow, their plight accentuated for our benefit. Although we are expected to feel sympathy, we know their prospects are about to improve. Behind the group to the right, a seated old man is being comforted by a youth, who points directly to the centre of the canvas, trying to reassure the ailing man. He points to where the manna will soon appear, stirring our anticipation for the miracle. To the right, we can already view the Israelites’ reaction to the miracle. It would seem that within the time of our looking from the left — the prominently lit section — to the right, the miracle has spontaneously occurred. A young man gathers the manna into a basket and is being urged by a kneeling woman to take the food to the failing old man. With a darker note, two youths are fighting over the manna, knocking over a vessel they had been filling. Their selfish actions are contrasted with the old man kneeling in prayer. Humorously, in the far right of the canvas, a bearded man feeds himself, his back unnaturally bent as he devours the food. There is no look to heaven from this figure, just the raw human drive for survival. In the central middle distance, we can see the final act of the drama. A gathering of Israelites surround Moses and Aaron, who receive thanks for their part in the miracle. Moses gestures above, indicating the actual source of the gift. Poussin continues the impression of verisimilitude in the scene, as there are still several Israelites unaware of their change in fortune, while gathering around their tents. Some are languishing with fatigue, while others have collapsed in submission. The intriguing spectacle of watching the miracle unfold is again prepared for maximum effect. The dramatic shift from hunger and dejection to euphoria and greed is explored with rare wit."
"Some critics have suggested that the canvas is a variation of Raphael’s famous fresco, The School of Athens, in the Vatican. Moses in particular, with his draperies and pointing gesture, echoes the figure of Plato in Raphael’s fresco. Though both compositions share a grandness of scale and monumentality of application, there is a subtle distinction between the two. Whereas Raphael’s work encourages the viewer to identify the great thinkers of the classical world, Poussin conjures before us a more cerebral image. Humanity, capable of so much good and evil at one time, is revealed in its variety for us to deconstruct and contemplate."
"Misfortunate was still to hamper Poussin’s early years in Rome. He had become ill with syphilis, but refused to go to the hospital, where the care was reportedly poor, and his worsening condition often left him unable to paint. He survived this difficult period by selling the paintings he had for a pittance. Relief finally came from a new friend, a chef, Jacques Dughet, whose family took the artist in and nursed him back to full health. He was mostly fully recovered by 1629 and the following year he married Anne-Marie Dughet, Jacques’ daughter. She was nineteen years younger than the artist and would die one year before him in 1664. In a surviving letter, Poussin reveals that his wife was “caring” and “dependable”; no other evidence survives regarding their relationship. The marriage remained childless."
"It is supposed that Poussin struggled a great deal while working on this canvas, ultimately recognising he would never be able to complete it. In 1664 he handed over the unfinished work to his friend Camillo Massimi, telling him he was too exhausted to continue. On 16 October Poussin’s wife died, at a time when, as he wrote to his patron Paul Fréart, ‘I had most need of her care’. By the spring of the following year he was recorded as only being able to “enjoy a glass of good wine with his friend Claude”. By the time that he had made his will in September of that year he was already confined to bed. He died on 19 November and was buried in the church of San Lorenzo in Lucina in Rome. In accordance with his wishes, the ceremony was conducted without pom."
"The leading painter of the classical French Baroque style, Nicolas Poussin was born in 1594, close to the town of Les Andelys in Normandy. He was the son of a nobleman whose fortunes had been dashed in the Wars of Religion. Poussin’s early education was mostly devoted to Latin and letters, though from an early age he displayed a talent for art, which in 1611 was encouraged by the arrival of Quentin Varin, an itinerant painter visiting Les Andelys; Varin is now regarded as the great artist’s first master. Poussin’s later works reveal the influence of Varin, particularly in their storytelling, accuracy of facial expression, fine drapery and vibrant palette. In spite of his blossoming talent, Poussin’s parents were opposed to the prospect of having an artist for a son. Varin was clearly impressed with the capabilities of this precocious young man and urged Poussin to depart for Paris the following year, where he could realise his ambition to become a major artist. Aged eighteen, Poussin took this advice and fled his parents’ control."
"Marino took the young artist into his household and, when Marino returned to his native Rome in 1623, he invited Poussin to join him. At last, the painter could realise his ambition of reaching the Eternal City. After remaining in Paris to finish a few commissions, Poussin started his journey to Italy. On the way, he spent several months in Venice, before finally arriving in Rome in the spring of 1624. Alas, Poussin’s early years in Rome were plagued with difficulties. In spite of promising introductions to prominent Roman figures, little interest was taken in the young artist. After two months, Marino himself departed for Naples, where he died suddenly in 1625, leaving Poussin to fend for himself alone in Rome, and without the protection of his trusty patron. To supplement his living, Poussin was reduced to churning out derivative mythological and biblical paintings in the hope of luring hesitant buyers. At first these were largely inspired by his early Ovidian drawings, now transformed into large scale oil paintings."
"The Plague of Ashdod was painted during a bubonic plague outbreak that took place in Italy from 1629 to 1631, which influenced Poussin’s accurate portrayal of the scene. It narrates a story from 1 Samuel in the Old Testament and currently hangs in the Louvre in Paris. It was commissioned by Fabrizio Valguarnera, a Sicilian merchant, who paid for the painting with the proceeds of a theft of diamonds and was later put on trial for laundering money through its purchase. The first book of Samuel tells how the Philistines had stolen the Israelites’ Ark of the Covenant, bestowing it in the temple of their own god, Dagon. The next morning they discover that the statue of Dagon has collapsed and after restoring it, once more it falls to the ground and they are left stunned in terror. God then sends a plague upon “the men of the city, both small and great”. In the composition, we are presented with the view of a wide city square, with the Ark of the Covenant in the temple positioned to the left and before it the collapsed statue of Dagon. In the foreground a group of terrified Philistines is gathered, their postures and faces showing concern. The most prominent figure is the corpse of a young mother in the centre, her torso, breast and legs dramatically foreshortened, as one of her children lies dead beside her, its features obscured in shadow. The father is slouched over the corpses, holding his nose from the stench, stressing the horror of the scene. A surviving child seeks milk from the mother’s exposed breasts, though the father stops the child, fearing further infection. The poignant scene is yet another borrowing from Raphael, Plague of Phrygia, a fully developed drawing now in the Uffizi, which was in turn derived from a lost painting by the fifth century ancient Greek artist Aristides of Thebes. The canvas is charged with a palette of primary hues and white tones, arranged in an unremitting sequence across the foreground, heightening the tension. The skin tones of the figures are pallid and swarthy,conveying decay and inertia. The contours of the forms and the emotive postures are angular and severe in expression, perhaps signalling the artist’s first hand experience of a plague outbreak."
"This provides a guideline as to how he intended us to view the composition. Firstly, we should observe the figures to the left, those Israelites that are hungry and weak, about to give up with no notion of the imminent lifesaving manna. A notable figure of this group is a mother feeding her own elderly mother from her breast, which she withdraws from her infant. Light floods in from the left, bathing these foreground figures in a divine glow, their plight accentuated for our benefit. Although we are expected to feel sympathy, we know their prospects are about to improve. Behind the group to the right, a seated old man is being comforted by a youth, who points directly to the centre of the canvas, trying to reassure the ailing man. He points to where the manna will soon appear, stirring our anticipation for the miracle. To the right, we can already view the Israelites’ reaction to the miracle. It would seem that within the time of our looking from the left — the prominently lit section — to the right, the miracle has spontaneously occurred. A young man gathers the manna into a basket and is being urged by a kneeling woman to take the food to the failing old man. With a darker note, two youths are fighting over the manna, knocking over a vessel they had been filling. Their selfish actions are contrasted with the old man kneeling in prayer. Humorously, in the far right of the canvas, a bearded man feeds himself, his back unnaturally bent as he devours the food. There is no look to heaven from this figure, just the raw human drive for survival. In the central middle distance, we can see the final act of the drama. A gathering of Israelites surround Moses and Aaron, who receive thanks for their part in the miracle. Moses gestures above, indicating the actual source of the gift. Poussin continues the impression of verisimilitude in the scene, as there are still several Israelites unaware of their change in fortune, while gathering around their tents. Some are languishing with fatigue, while others have collapsed in submission. The intriguing spectacle of watching the miracle unfold is again prepared for maximum effect. The dramatic shift from hunger and dejection to euphoria and greed is explored with rare wit."
"Some critics have suggested that the canvas is a variation of Raphael’s famous fresco, The School of Athens, in the Vatican. Moses in particular, with his draperies and pointing gesture, echoes the figure of Plato in Raphael’s fresco. Though both compositions share a grandness of scale and monumentality of application, there is a subtle distinction between the two. Whereas Raphael’s work encourages the viewer to identify the great thinkers of the classical world, Poussin conjures before us a more cerebral image. Humanity, capable of so much good and evil at one time, is revealed in its variety for us to deconstruct and contemplate."
"Misfortunate was still to hamper Poussin’s early years in Rome. He had become ill with syphilis, but refused to go to the hospital, where the care was reportedly poor, and his worsening condition often left him unable to paint. He survived this difficult period by selling the paintings he had for a pittance. Relief finally came from a new friend, a chef, Jacques Dughet, whose family took the artist in and nursed him back to full health. He was mostly fully recovered by 1629 and the following year he married Anne-Marie Dughet, Jacques’ daughter. She was nineteen years younger than the artist and would die one year before him in 1664. In a surviving letter, Poussin reveals that his wife was “caring” and “dependable”; no other evidence survives regarding their relationship. The marriage remained childless."
"It is supposed that Poussin struggled a great deal while working on this canvas, ultimately recognising he would never be able to complete it. In 1664 he handed over the unfinished work to his friend Camillo Massimi, telling him he was too exhausted to continue. On 16 October Poussin’s wife died, at a time when, as he wrote to his patron Paul Fréart, ‘I had most need of her care’. By the spring of the following year he was recorded as only being able to “enjoy a glass of good wine with his friend Claude”. By the time that he had made his will in September of that year he was already confined to bed. He died on 19 November and was buried in the church of San Lorenzo in Lucina in Rome. In accordance with his wishes, the ceremony was conducted without pom."
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