Monday, November 9, 2015

London Poussins

Nicolas Poussin
Self-portrait
c. 1630
drawing
British Museum

Poussin would have been in his middle thirties when he made the scowling drawing of himself above. The calligraphic text in Italian was added by an early owner of the portrait and states that Poussin made it with the aid of a mirror while recovering from a serious attack of illness (there is some evidence that this was due to syphilis). One of Poussin's first Roman patrons was the art-loving Cardinal Massimi, to whom the artist gave drawing lessons. This crayon portrait was originally a gift from Poussin to Cardinal Massimi.

Poussin had with difficulty established himself in Rome only a few years before. Success and security were still under construction. By mid-century he would be widely famous and widely imitated. Yet he remained a singular artist with few public commissions, preferring to work on mid-sized easel-paintings for a few loyal private patrons.

Below, images of the Poussin collection now in London at the National Gallery.

Nicolas Poussin
Cephalus & Aurora
c. 1630
National Gallery, London 

Nicolas Poussin
The Nurture of Bacchus
c. 1628
National Gallery, London

Nicolas Poussin
Nymph with Satyrs
1627
National Gallery, London

Nicolas Poussin
Bacchanalian Revel before a Term
1632-33
National Gallery, London

Nicolas Poussin
Triumph of Pan
1636
National Gallery, London

Nicolas Poussin
Adoration of the Golden Calf
1633-34
National Gallery, London

Nicolas Poussin
Adoration of the Shepherds
1633-34
National Gallery, London

Nicolas Poussin
Landscape with a man scooping water from a stream
c. 1637
National Gallery, London

Nicolas Poussin
Landscape with Travellers Resting
c. 1638-39
National Gallery, London

Nicolas Poussin
Landscape with a man washing his feet at a fountain
1648
National Gallery, London

Nicolas Poussin
Landscape with a Man Killed by a Snake
1648
National Gallery, London

Nicolas Poussin
The Finding of Moses
1651
National Gallery, London

Nicolas Poussin
The Annunciation
1657
National Gallery, London

Curators at the National Gallery suggest that the final picture, Poussin's late Annunciation, was painted to hang above the tomb of his patron Cassiano dal Pozzo (1588-1657) in the church of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, Rome. Cassiano dal Pozzo's once-famous Paper Museum can be sampled in an earlier post here.