Nicolas Poussin

Nicholas Poussin (1594 - 1665) was a French painter of the Baroque period. He first studied the works of antiquity in Rome. After initial difficulties, Poussin was able to win over private collectors in particular after a little-noticed public commission - the altarpiece "Martyrdom of St. Erasmus" for St. Peter's. In Paris, to which he had to return in 1641 at the request of the King, the artist was commissioned to paint the Grande Galerie des Louvre. Poussin felt uncomfortable in his home country due to the tensions that arose with other artists, so he returned to Rome after the King's death.

Poussin became famous and important for his heroic landscapes. Influenced by the models of antiquity, he created idyllic landscapes based on mythology. The figures in their antique robes stand like statues in a Mediterranean-style nature. Especially works like "Et in Arcadia ego" (first version 1629-1630; second version 1650-55) show this kind of representation. Apart from landscapes, Poussin mainly created mythological and biblical scenes. These, too, show again the antique models in their statuesque representation, as in the picture "Tod des Germanicus" (1626-1628) His works, mainly created for private collectors and connoisseurs, are outstanding for baroque painting.