Poussin's most famous paintings. Nicolas Poussin

Self-portrait. 1650

In a self-portrait, Nicolas Poussin portrayed himself as a thinker and creator. Next to him is the profile of the Muse, as if personifying the power of antiquity over him. And at the same time, this is an image of a bright personality, a man of his time. The portrait embodies the program of classicism with its commitment to nature and idealization, the desire to express the high civil ideals that Poussin's art served.

Nicolas Poussin - French painter, founder of the "classicism" style. Turning to the themes of ancient mythology, ancient history, the Bible, he revealed the themes of his contemporary era. With his works, he brought up a perfect personality, showing and singing examples of high morality, civic prowess.

Nicolas Poussin was born on May 5, 1594 in Normandy, near the town of Les Andelys. His father, a veteran of the army of King Henry IV (1553-1610), gave his son a good education. From childhood, Poussin drew attention to himself with his penchant for drawing. At the age of 18 he goes to Paris to paint. Probably, his first teacher was the portrait painter Ferdinand Van Elle (1580-1649), the second - the historical painter Georges Lallement (1580-1636). Having met the valet of the Dowager Queen Marie de Medici, the keeper of the royal art collections and library, Poussin got the opportunity to visit the Louvre and copy paintings by Italian artists there. In 1622, Poussin and other artists were commissioned to paint six large paintings on subjects from the life of St. Ignatius of Loyola and St. Francis Xavier (not preserved).

In 1624 Nicolas Poussin went to Rome. There he studied the art of the ancient world, the works of the masters of the High Renaissance. In 1625-1626 he received an order to paint the painting "The Destruction of Jerusalem" (not preserved), later he painted the second version of this painting (1636-1638, Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum).

In 1627, Poussin painted The Death of Germanicus (Rome, Palazzo Barberini) based on the plot of the ancient Roman historian Tacitus, who considers it a programmatic work of classicism; it shows the farewell of the legionnaires to the dying commander. The death of a hero is perceived as a tragedy of social significance. The theme is interpreted in the spirit of the calm and severe heroism of the ancient narrative. The idea of ​​the picture is service to duty. The artist arranged figures and objects in a shallow space, dividing it into a series of plans. In this work, the main features of classicism were revealed: clarity of action, architectonicity, harmony of composition, opposition of groupings. The ideal of beauty in the eyes of Poussin consisted in the proportionality of the parts of the whole, in external order, harmony, clarity of composition, which would become characteristic features of the master's mature style. One of the features of Poussin's creative method was rationalism, which was reflected not only in the plots, but also in the thoughtfulness of the composition.

In the period 1629-1633, the themes of Poussin's paintings change: he rarely paints paintings on religious subjects, turning to mythological and literary subjects.

Narcissus and Echo, circa 1629

Rinaldo and Armida. 1635

The plot of the picture is borrowed from the poem of the 16th century Italian poet Torquato Tasso "The Liberated Jerusalem". The sorceress Armida puts to sleep the young knight Rinaldo, who is on a crusade. She wants to kill the young man, but, captivated by his beauty, she falls in love with Rinaldo and takes him to her enchanted gardens. Poussin, the head of classical painting, interprets the medieval legend in the spirit of ancient myth. The completeness of the composition, the unity of rhythmic construction are the main features of Poussin's art. In the coloring, one can feel the influence of Titian, whose work Poussin was fond of during these years. The painting is a pair to "Tancred and Erminia", stored in the State Hermitage.

Tancred and Erminia. 1630-40

The leader of the Amazons Erminia, in love with the knight Tancred, finds him wounded after a duel with the giant Argant. The squire Vafrin lifts the motionless body of Tancred from the ground, and Erminia, in an unbridled outburst of love and compassion, cuts off her hair with a sword to bandage the wounds of the knight. Almost everything on the canvas is calm - Tancred lies powerless on the ground, Vafrin froze above him, the horses are motionless, Argant's body is stretched out in the distance, the landscape is deserted and deserted. But Herminia's pathetic movement breaks into this frozen silence, and everything around lights up with the reflected light of her irrepressible spiritual upsurge. Stillness becomes tense, strong and deep patches of color collide with each other in sharp contrasts, glimpses of an orange sunset in the sky become menacing and unsettling. Erminia's excitement is conveyed to every detail of the picture, every line and light glare.

In 1640Poussin's popularityattracted the attention of Louis XIII (1601-1643) and, at his insistent invitation, Poussin came to work in Paris, where he received an order from the king to paint paintings for his chapels in Fontainebleau and Saint-Germain.

In the autumn of 1642 Poussin leaves for Rome again. The themes of the paintings of this period were the virtues and valor of rulers, biblical or ancient heroes..

The generosity of Scipio. 1643

In the second half of the 40s, Poussin created the Seven Sacraments cycle, in which he revealed the deep philosophical meaning of Christian dogmas: "Landscape with the Apostle Matthew", "Landscape with the Apostle John on the Island of Patmos" (Chicago, Institute of Arts).

End 40-x - early 50s - one of the fruitful periods in the work of Poussin: he painted the paintings "Eliazar and Rebecca", "Landscape with Diogenes", "Landscape with the High Road", "The Judgment of Solomon", "The Ecstasy of St. Paul", "Arcadian shepherds", the second self-portrait.

Landscape with Polyphemus. 1648

In the last period of creativity (1650-1665), Poussin increasingly turned to the landscape, his characters were associated with literary, mythological subjects..

In the summer of 1660 he creates a series of landscapes "The Four Seasons" with biblical scenes symbolizing the history of the world and mankind: "Spring", "Summer", "Autumn", "Winter".

Poussin's landscapes are multifaceted, the alternation of plans was emphasized by stripes of light and shadow, the illusion of space and depth gave them epic power and grandeur. As in historical paintings, the main characters are usually located in the foreground and are perceived as an inseparable part of the landscape.

The last, unfinished canvas of the master is "Apollo and Daphne" (1664).

The love story of Apollo and Daphne is told by Ovid. Daphne gave her word to remain chaste and remain celibate, like the goddess Artemis. Apollo, who sought the love of a beautiful nymph, horrified her. As if she saw in him through the blinding beauty the ferocity of the wolf. But in the soul of God, inflamed by the refusal, a feeling flared up more and more.

Why are you running from me, nymph? he shouted, trying to catch up with her. - I'm not a robber! Not a wild shepherd! I am Apollo, son of Zeus! Stop!

Daphne continued to run as fast as she could. The chase is getting closer, the girl already feels the hot breath of Apollo behind her back. Don't leave! And she prayed to Father Peneus for help:

Father! Help your daughter! Hide me or change my appearance so that this beast does not touch me!

As soon as these words were uttered, Daphne felt that her legs were becoming stiff and sinking into the ground to the ankles. The folds of sweat-damp clothes turn into bark, the arms stretch out into branches: the gods turned Daphne into a laurel tree. In vain Apollo hugged a beautiful laurel, from grief he made it henceforth his favorite and sacred plant and adorned his head with a wreath woven from laurel branches.

By order of Apollo, the nymph's companions killed the son of the Peloponnesian king Enomaus Leucippus, who was in love with her and pursued her disguised in a woman's dress so that no one could recognize him.

Daphne - an ancient plant deity, entered the circle of Apollo, losing her independence and becoming an attribute of God. Before the Delphic oracle became the property of Apollo, in its place was the oracle of the land of Gaia, and then Daphne. And later in Delphi victoriesThe athletes at the competitions were given laurel wreaths. Callimachus mentions the sacred laurel on Delos. The Homeric hymn tells about prophecies from the laurel tree itself. At the festival of Daphnephoria in Thebes, laurel branches were carried.

November 19, 1665NikolaPoussin is dead.ATelikothe significance of his work for the history of painting. French artists before him were traditionally familiar with the art of Renaissance Italy. But they were inspired by the works of the masters of Italian mannerism, baroque, caravaggism. Poussin was the first French painter who adopted the tradition of the classical style of Leonardo da Vinci and Raphael. Clarity, constancy and orderliness of visual techniques, ideological and moral orientation of artPoussinlater made his work a standard for the Academy of Painting and Sculpture of France, which was engaged in the development of canons,aesthetic standardsand obligatory rules of artistic creation.

Landscape with Diana and Orion. 1660-64

Diana - the goddess of vegetation, the obstetrician, the personification of the moon, was identified with Artemis and Hekate. She was called Trivia - "the goddess of three roads" (her image was placed at the crossroads), which was also interpreted as a sign of the supreme power of Diana: in heaven, on earth and underground.

Sanctuaries of Diana are known on Mount Tifat in Campania (hence the epithet Diana Tifatina) and in the Aricia region in a grove on Lake Nemi. Diana was considered the patron goddess of the Latin Union, and with the transfer of supremacy in this union to Rome, King Servius Tullius founded the temple of Diana on Aventine, which became a favorite place of worship for Latins, plebeians and slaves who came from those who had migrated to Rome or were captured; the anniversary of the foundation of the temple was considered a holiday of slaves - servorum dies. This ensured Diana's popularity among the lower classes, who made up the numerous colleges of her admirers.

A legend is connected with the temple of Diana on the Aventina about an extraordinary cow, the owner of which was predicted that whoever sacrificed it to Diana in this temple would provide his city with power over Italy. King Servius Tullius, having learned about this prediction, by cunning took possession of a cow, sacrificed it and attached its horns in the temple.

Diana was considered the personification of the moon, just as her brother Apollo was identified with the sun in late Roman antiquity. Subsequently, she was identified with Nemesis and the Carthaginian heavenly goddess Celeste. In the Roman provinces, under the name of Diana, native goddesses were revered - "mistresses of the forest", goddess-mothers, givers of vegetable and animal fertility.

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Nicolas Poussin (French Nicolas Poussin; in Italy he was called Niccolò Pussino (Italian Niccolò Pussino); 1594, Les Andelys, Normandy - November 19, 1665, Rome) - French artist, one of the founders of classicism painting. He spent a significant part of his active creative life in Rome, where he was from 1624 and enjoyed the patronage of Cardinal Francesco Barberini. Drawing the attention of King Louis XIII and Cardinal Richelieu, he was awarded the title of the first painter of the king. In 1640 he arrived in Paris, but could not adapt to the situation at the royal court and experienced a number of conflicts with leading French artists. In 1642, Poussin returned to Italy, where he lived until his death, fulfilling orders from the French royal court and a small group of enlightened collectors. He died and was buried in Rome.

Jacques Thuillier's 1994 catalog lists 224 paintings by Poussin whose attribution is beyond doubt, as well as 33 works whose authorship may be disputed. The artist's paintings are based on historical, mythological and biblical subjects, marked by strict rationalism of composition and choice of artistic means. Landscape became an important means of self-expression for him. One of the first artists, Poussin, appreciated the monumentality of the local color and theoretically substantiated the superiority of line over color. After his death, his statements became the theoretical basis of academicism and the activities of the Royal Academy of Painting. His creative manner was closely studied by Jacques-Louis David and Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres.
Throughout the 19th-20th centuries, assessments of Poussin's worldview and the interpretation of his work changed radically.

The most important primary source of the biography of Nicolas Poussin is the surviving correspondence - a total of 162 messages. 25 of them, written in Italian, were sent from Paris to Cassiano dal Pozzo - the artist's Roman patron - and dated from January 1, 1641 to September 18, 1642. Almost all other correspondence, from 1639 to the death of the artist in 1665, is a monument to his friendship with Paul Freard de Chantelou, court adviser and royal maitre d'. These letters are written in French and do not claim to be of a high literary style, being an important source of Poussin's daily activities. The correspondence with Dal Pozzo was first published in 1754 by Giovanni Bottari, but in a slightly revised form. The original letters are kept in the French National Library. The publication of the artist's letters, issued by Didot in 1824, was called "falsified" by Poussin's biographer Paul Desjardins.

The first biographies of Poussin were published by his Roman friend Giovanni Pietro Bellori, who served as librarian to Queen Christina of Sweden, and André Felibien, who met the artist in Rome during his tenure as secretary of the French embassy (1647), and then as royal historiographer. Bellori's book Vite de "Pittori, Scaltori ed Architetti moderni was dedicated to Colbert and was published in 1672. Poussin's biography contains brief handwritten notes on the nature of his art, which were preserved in the manuscript in the library of Cardinal Massimi. Only in the middle of the 20th century did it become clear that "Remarks on painting", that is, the so-called "modes" of Poussin, are nothing more than extracts from ancient and Renaissance treatises. Vita di Pussino from Bellori's book was published in French only in 1903.

Félibien's Entretiens sur les vies et sur les ouvrages des plus excellents peintres anciens et modernes was published in 1685. Poussin is devoted to 136 pages in-quarto. According to P. Desjardins, this is “real hagiography”. The value of this work was given by five long letters published in its composition, including one addressed to Felibien himself. This biography of Poussin is also valuable in that it contained Felibien's personal memories of his appearance, manners and everyday habits. Felibien outlined the chronology of Poussin's work, based on the stories of his brother-in-law, Jean Duguet. However, both Bellori and Felibien were apologists for academic classicism. In addition, the Italian sought to prove the influence of the Italian academic school on Poussin.

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Not everyone can catch a bird of happiness by a multi-colored tail. And, alas, not everyone is destined to glorify their name as widely as it was possible for a talented person who had only a couple of brushes, a palette and a canvas in his arsenal. Nicolas Poussin- an outstanding French artist and one of the founding fathers who stood at the origins of classicism.

In 1594, in Normandy, near the town of Les Andelys, a boy was born who from childhood showed amazing success in drawing. Having reached the age of majority, Nikola went to the French capital to devote himself to the hard work of painting. In Paris, the young man's talent was spotted by the portrait painter Ferdinand Van Elle, who became Poussin's first teacher. After some time, the place of the teacher was taken by the painter Georges Lallement. This acquaintance brought Nicola a double benefit: in addition to the opportunity to hone his skills under the strict guidance of an eminent mentor, Poussin got access to the Louvre, where he copied paintings by Italian Renaissance artists.

By that time, the young artist's career was gaining momentum, and his head was spinning from the realization of what heights he could climb if he continued to work hard. Therefore, to improve his skills, Poussin went to Rome - a kind of Mecca for all artists of those years. Here the artist actively "nibbled on the granite of science", studying the works, and. Focusing on the great predecessors and communicating with contemporary artists, Poussin was actively engaged in antique and learned to measure the proportions of stone sculptures with fantastic accuracy.

The artist saw the source of his inspiration in poetry, theater, philosophical treatises and biblical themes. It was this cultural base that helped him covertly demonstrate the image of his contemporary era in his paintings. The hero of Nikola's works is an idealized person.

In Rome, Nicolas Poussin glorified his name, the authoritative master was entrusted with the painting of cathedrals, orders were made for canvases with classical or historical subjects. One of these was the painting "The Death of Germanicus", which is based on the work of the historian Tacitus. It was written in 1627, the artist depicted on it the last minutes of the life of the Roman commander.

The uniqueness of the canvas lies in the fact that it combined absolutely all the features of classicism, the beauty of which for Poussin was reflected in the proportionality of each part, the clarity of the composition and the sequence of actions.

After the "Death of Germanicus" and until 1629, the artist created several more paintings, among which the canvas "Descent from the Cross" occupies a special place.

In the painting, which is now in the Hermitage, Poussin paid great attention to the sad face of Mary, conveying the sorrow of the whole people for the deceased Savior. An ominous red background and a dark sky are symbols of the approaching hour of retribution for what has been done. But the snow-white clothes of Jesus Christ contrast even more strongly with the crimson background of the picture. The Savior's feet were mournfully embraced by innocent angels.

In the next few years, the master preferred mythological subjects. For a short time, the painting “Tancred and Erminia” was painted, which was based on the poem “The Liberated Jerusalem” by Torquatto Tasso and the painting “The Kingdom of Flora”, written under the influence of the works of Ovid.

Shortly after completing the work, at the invitation of Cardinal Richelieu, Nicolas Poussin returns to Paris to decorate the Louvre gallery. A year later, Louis XIII became interested in the artist's talent. Soon he made Poussin the first painter at court. The artist received the desired fame, and orders fell on him like from a cornucopia. But the sweet taste of Poussin's triumph was spoiled by envious gossipers from the artistic elite, who in 1642 forced Nicola to leave Paris and head back to Rome.

From that time until the end of his days, Poussin lived in Italy. This period became the most fruitful for the artist and rich in bright works, among which the cycle “The Seasons” occupies a special place.

The plot was based on the events described in the Old Testament, which the artist allegorically compared with the seasons, identifying each with the period of birth, growing up, aging and death. In one work, Poussin also showed the mountainous landscape of Canaan, famous for its fertility, and Abraham and Lot, who were gathering grapes, as a symbol of Divine generosity. And the artist depicted the end of a sinful life in the last picture of the cycle, the appearance of which can amaze even the most persistent viewers.

In recent years, Poussin was actively painting landscapes and worked quickly in order to have time to finish the beginning of the picture. The artist did not have time to complete only the canvas "Apollo and Daphne".

Nicolas Poussin inscribed his name on a par with the glorious masters, on whose experience he once studied.

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Nicolas Poussin(1594, Les Andelys, Normandy - November 19, 1665, Rome) - French artist who stood at the origins of classicism painting. For a long time he lived and worked in Rome. Almost all of his paintings are based on historical and mythological subjects. Master of chased, rhythmic composition. One of

the first to appreciate the monumentality of the local color.

An artist-philosopher, scientist and thinker, in whose art the rational principle plays the main role, Poussin embodies French classicism both in his personality and in his work. His painting is thematically multifaceted - he chooses religious, historical, mythological subjects, inspired by ancient odes, or modern literature.

Poussin begins his studies in France. From 1622, he received orders for religious works in Paris. Together with F. de Champaigne, he participated in the decoration of the Luxembourg Palace (not preserved). Poussin's first stay in Rome lasts from 1624 to 1640. Here his artistic passions are formed, he copies ancient monuments, Titian's Bacchanalia, studies the works of Raphael. But, remaining forever committed to the "worthy and noble nature", the ideal, Poussin does not accept the art of Caravaggio, the naturalism of the Flemish and Dutch schools, opposes the influence of Rubens, his understanding of painting. The addition of his artistic worldview is also facilitated by his stay since 1624 in the workshop of Domenichino. Poussin becomes a direct successor to the tradition of the ideal landscape, laid down by the Italian master.

Soon in Rome, the artist met Cardinal Barberini, the nephew of Pope Urban VIII, for whom he wrote The Death of Germanicus. Between 1627 and 1633 he executed a series of easel paintings for Roman collectors. Then his masterpieces appear Poet's Inspiration", "The Kingdom of Flora", "Triumph of Flora", "Tancred and Erminia", "Lamentation of Christ" .

The work of Poussin for the history of painting is difficult to overestimate: he is the founder of such a style of painting as classicism. French artists before him were traditionally familiar with the art of the Italian Renaissance. But they were inspired by the works of the masters of Italian mannerism, baroque, caravaggism. Poussin was the first French painter who adopted the tradition of the classical style of Leonardo da Vinci and Raphael. Turning to the themes of ancient mythology, ancient history, the Bible, Poussin revealed the themes of his contemporary era. With their

with his works, he brought up a perfect personality, showing and singing examples of high morality, civic prowess. The clarity, constancy and orderliness of Poussin's visual techniques, the ideological and moral orientation of his art later made his work a standard for the French Academy of Painting and Sculpture, which took up the development of aesthetic norms, formal canons and obligatory rules of artistic creativity (the so-called "academism")

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In one of the essays that make up the "History of Painting of All Times and Peoples", A. N. Benois extremely accurately defined the basis of the artistic quest of the founder of European classicism - Nicola

Poussin: “His art captures a very wide range of experiences, feelings and knowledge. However, the main feature of his work was the reduction of everything to one harmonic whole. In it, eclecticism celebrates its apotheosis, but not as an academic, school doctrine, but as an achievement of the striving inherent in humanity for all-knowledge, all-unity and all-arrangement. Actually, this is the guiding idea of ​​classicism, which found its greatest exponent in Poussin precisely because "the sense of proportion and its very eclecticism - the choice and assimilation of beauty - were features not of a rational and arbitrary order, but the main property of his soul."

Numerous works by Poussin and biographical sources, together with an extensive corpus of Poussin studies, make it possible to quite clearly imagine the process of formation of the artistic system of the French master.

Poussin was born in 1594 in Normandy (according to legend, in the village of Villers near the city of Andely). Early

the flared love for art, multiplied by a strong will, encourages the young provincial to leave his native places, endure everyday hardships, settle in Paris, so that after several unsuccessful attempts to get to the "homeland of arts", to the artistic capital of the world - Rome. The thirst for knowledge and skill, exceptional ability to work, constantly trained and therefore unusually developed memory allow the young artist to master the universe of culture, to absorb the diversity of artistic and aesthetic experience - from Greco-Roman antiquity to contemporary art. Nurtured in the nutrient medium of memory, the intellect of the master serves as a means of conjugation of spiritual values ​​accumulated over the centuries, and generates a system of philosophical and aesthetic orientations that determine the sublime meaning of Poussin's creativity.

To this sketchy characterization of a creative personality, one should add an obvious indifference to honors and a tendency to solitude. Literally everything in Poussin's biography testifies to what Descartes so well expressed in his famous confession: “I will always consider myself favored more by those by whose grace I can freely enjoy my leisure than by those who would offer me the most honorable positions in earth."

Assessing his creative path, Poussin said that he "neglected nothing" during the years of searching. Indeed, with the dominant orientation towards antiquity, Poussin's art fuses elements of the most diverse influences.

At the beginning of the journey - this is the impact of the first and second schools of Fontainebleau, as evidenced by both the painting and the graphics of the young Poussin. The engravings of Marcantonio Raimondi serve as a source of acquaintance for him with the legacy of Raphael, whose art Poussin later compares with mother's milk.

According to J. P. Bellori, one of the first biographers of Poussin, an important role in the formation of the artist was played by a certain Courtois, "the royal mathematician."

Around 1614-1615, after a trip to Poitou, he met in Paris with Alexandre Courtois (Alexandre Courtois), valet of the dowager Queen Marie de Medici, keeper of the royal art collections and library, Poussin got the opportunity to visit the Louvre and copy paintings by Italian artists there. Alexandre Courtois owned a collection of engravings from the paintings of the Italians Raphael and Giulio Romano, which delighted Poussin. Once ill, Poussin spent some time with his parents before returning to Paris again.

“This man,” says Bellori, “passionately drawn by drawing, who was the keeper of a rich collection of wonderful engravings from Giulio Romano and Raphael, captivated the soul of Nicola, who copied them with such zeal and so faithfully that he was able to comprehend the mastery of drawing, the transmission of movements, skill design and other remarkable qualities of these masters. The same Courtois enlightens the young painter in the field of mathematics, deals with perspective with him. The lessons of Courtois, having fallen on fertile ground, will give generous shoots.

In the same Parisian years, the artist came closer to the famous poet Giambattista Marino,

pioneer of baroque poetry in Italy, who arrived in Paris at the invitation of Marguerite de Valois and was graciously received at the court of Marie de Medici. After spending eight years in Paris, Marino became, in the words of I. N. Golenishchev-Kutuzov, “like a link connecting Italian culture with French”; even the pillar of classicism, Malherbe, did not escape his influence. And in vain, some researchers treat the poet as allegedly mannered and shallow in his work: even a cursory acquaintance with Marino's poetry is enough to appreciate the brilliance of his talent. There is at least no doubt about the real influence of the poet on the young Poussin. Distinguished by the broadest erudition, Marino unfolded beautiful pages of ancient and modern literature in front of the painter, strengthened his passionate attraction to the art of antiquity and helped realize the dream of Italy. The poet's baroque orientation, his ideas of the interconnectedness of the arts (primarily painting, poetry and music), his sensationalism and pantheism could not but affect the formation of Poussin's aesthetic views, which, perhaps, led to the interest in baroque art that accompanies the development of Poussin in

early creative period. (This circumstance, as a rule, is little taken into account by Poussin scholars.) Finally, under the direct supervision of Marino, the young Poussin is engaged in the "translation" of poetic images into the language of visual art, illustrating Ovid's Metamorphoses.

Courtois and Marino are not just influential and well-educated people who supported the young painter in time. It is significant, firstly, that they were a mathematician and a poet, and secondly, representatives of two cultures and two worldviews. The rationalism of the first (characteristic of the French spirit as a whole) and the irrepressible fantasy of the second (Marino is not only a poet, but also the phenomenon of stile moderno in its most striking - Italian - version) are the two poles of the world in which the genius of Poussin was to reveal himself. It is worth noting that the most exciting artistic events often take place precisely at the borders of cultures and languages.

In September 1618, Poussin lived on the Rue Saint-Germain-l'Auxerroy with the goldsmith Jean Guillemen, who also dined. He moved out of the address on June 9, 1619. Around 1619-1620, Poussin creates the canvas “ St. Denis the Areopagus» for the Parisian church of Saint-Germain-l'Auxerroy.

In 1622, Poussin again sets out on the road towards Rome, but stops in Lyon to perform

order: the Parisian Jesuit College commissioned Poussin and other artists to paint six large paintings on subjects from the life of St. Ignatius of Loyola and St. Francis Xavier. Paintings executed in the technique a la détrempe have not survived. The work of Poussin attracted the attention of the Italian poet and cavalier Marino, who lived in France, at the invitation of Marie Medici; 1569-1625).

In 1623, probably commissioned by the Archbishop de Gondi of Paris, Poussin performed "Death of the Virgin Mary" (La Mort de la Vierge) for the altar of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. This canvas, which was considered lost in the 19th-20th centuries, was found in the church of the Belgian city of Sterrebeek. Cavalier Marino, with whom Poussin had a close friendship, returned to Italy in April 1623.

After several unsuccessful attempts, Poussin finally managed to get to Italy. For some time he stayed in Venice. Then, enriched by the artistic ideas of the Venetians, he arrived in Rome.

Rome of that time was the only center of European art of its kind, capable of satisfying all the demands of a visiting painter. The young artist had to choose. Here Poussin plunges into the study of ancient art, literature and philosophy, the Bible, Renaissance treatises on art, etc. Sketches of ancient reliefs, statues, architectural fragments, copies of paintings and frescoes, copies of sculptures in clay and wax - all this demonstrates how deeply Poussin mastered the material of interest to him. Biographers unanimously speak of the exceptional diligence of the artist. Poussin continues to study geometry, perspective, anatomy, studies optics, trying to comprehend the "reasonable basis of beauty."

But if theoretically the tendency towards a rational synthesis of the achievements of European artistic culture has already been fully defined and the line "Raphael - antiquity" has established itself as a general one, then Poussin's creative practice in the early Roman years reveals a number of outwardly contradictory orientations. With close attention to Bologna academicism, to strict

the art of Domenichino is accompanied by a deep passion for the Venetians, especially Titian, and a noticeable interest in the Roman baroque.

The identification of these lines of Poussin's artistic orientation in the early Roman period, which has long been established in art history literature, can hardly be seriously challenged. However, such a diverse orientation of the master's searches is based on a general pattern that is of fundamental importance for understanding Poussin's art as a whole.

In 1626, Poussin received his first commission from Cardinal Barberini: to paint a picture "Destruction of Jerusalem" (not preserved). Later he painted a second version of this painting (1636-1638; Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum).

In 1627 Poussin painted a picture "Death of Germanicus" according to the plot of the ancient Roman historian Tacitus, which is considered the programmatic work of classicism; it shows the farewell of the legionnaires to the dying commander. The death of a hero is perceived as a tragedy of social significance. The theme is interpreted in the spirit of the calm and severe heroism of the ancient narrative. The idea of ​​the picture is service to duty. The artist arranged figures and objects in a shallow space, dividing it into a series of plans. In this work, the main features of classicism were revealed: clarity of action, architectonicity, harmony of composition, opposition of groupings. The ideal of beauty in the eyes of Poussin consisted in the proportionality of the parts of the whole, in external order, harmony, clarity of composition, which would become characteristic features of the master's mature style. One of the features of Poussin's creative method was rationalism, which was reflected not only in the plots, but also in the thoughtfulness of the composition. At this time, Poussin created easel paintings, mainly of medium size, but of a high civic sound,

which laid the foundations of classicism in European painting, poetic compositions on literary and mythological themes, marked by a sublime structure of images, the emotionality of an intense, gently harmonized color "Poet's Inspiration", (Paris, Louvre), "Parnassus", 1630-1635 (Prado, Madrid). The clear compositional rhythm dominating in the works of Poussin in the 1630s is perceived as a reflection of the reasonable principle, which gives greatness to the noble deeds of a person - "Salvation of Moses" (Louvre, Paris), "Moses purifying the waters of Merra", "Madonna appearing to St. James the Elder" (“Madonna on a Pillar”) (1629, Paris, Louvre).

In 1628-1629, the painter worked for the main temple of the Catholic Church - St. Peter's Cathedral; he was commissioned a painting "The Torment of St. Erasmus" for the altar of the cathedral chapel with the reliquary of the saint.

In 1629-1630 Poussin creates a remarkable power of expression and the most vitally truthful " Descent from the Cross » (St. Petersburg, Hermitage).

On September 1, 1630, Poussin married Anne-Marie Dughet, the sister of a French cook who lived in Rome and took care of Poussin during his illness.

In the period 1629-1633, the themes of Poussin's paintings change: he rarely paints paintings on religious themes, referring to mythological and literary subjects: "Narcissus and Echo" (c. 1629, Paris, Louvre), "Selena and Endymion" (Detroit, Art Institute); and a series of paintings based on Torquatto Tasso's poem "Jerusalem Liberated": "Rinaldo and Armida" , 1625-1627, (GMII, Moscow); "Tancred and Erminia", 1630s, (State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg).

Poussin was fond of the teachings of the ancient Stoic philosophers, who called for

courage and dignity in the face of death. Reflections on death occupied an important place in his work. The idea of ​​the frailty of a person and the problems of life and death formed the basis of an early version of the picture. "Arcade Shepherds" , about 1629-1630, (collection of the Duke of Devonshire, Chatsworth), to which he returned in the 50s (1650, Paris, Louvre). According to the plot of the picture, the inhabitants of Arcadia, where joy and peace reign, discover a tombstone with the inscription: "And I am in Arcadia." It is Death itself that speaks to the heroes and destroys their serene mood, forcing them to think about the inevitable future suffering. One of the women puts her hand on the shoulder of her neighbor, as if trying to help him come to terms with the thought of

inevitable end. However, despite the tragic content, the artist narrates about the collision of life and death calmly. The composition of the painting is simple and logical: the characters are grouped near the tombstone and linked by hand movements. The figures are painted using soft and expressive chiaroscuro, they are somewhat reminiscent of antique sculptures. In Poussin's painting, antique themes predominated. He imagined Ancient Greece as an ideally beautiful world inhabited by wise and perfect

people. Even in the dramatic episodes of ancient history, he tried to see the triumph of love and supreme justice. On canvas "Sleeping Venus" (c. 1630, Dresden, Art Gallery) the goddess of love is represented by an earthly woman, while remaining an unattainable ideal. One of the best works on the ancient theme "Kingdom of Flora" (1631, Dresden, Art Gallery), based on the poems of Ovid, strikes with the beauty of the picturesque embodiment of ancient images. This is a poetic allegory of the origin of flowers, which depicts the heroes of ancient myths turned into flowers. In the picture, the artist collected the characters of Ovid's epic "Metamorphoses", which after death turned into flowers (Narcissus, Hyacinth and others). The dancing Flora is in the center, and the rest of the figures are arranged in a circle, their postures and gestures are subject to a single rhythm - thanks to this, the whole composition is permeated with a circular motion. Soft in color and gentle in mood, the landscape is written rather conventionally and looks more like a theatrical scenery. The connection between painting and theatrical art was

natural for the artist of the XVII century - the heyday of the theater. The picture reveals an important thought for the master: the heroes who suffered and died untimely on earth found peace and joy in the magical garden of Flora, that is, new life, the cycle of nature, is reborn from death. Soon another version of this picture was written - "Triumph of Flora" (1631, Paris, Louvre).

In 1632, Poussin was elected a member of the Academy of Saint Luke.

For several years (1636-1642) Poussin worked on the order of the Roman scientist and member of the Academy dei Lincei Cassiano dal Pozzo, a lover of antiquity and Christian archeology; for him, the painter painted a series of paintings about the seven sacraments ( Sept sacraments). Pozzo supported the French artist more than others as a patron of the arts. Some of the paintings were included in the collection of paintings of the Dukes of Rutland.

By 1634-36. he becomes popular in France, and Cardinal Richelieu orders him several paintings on mythological themes - "The Triumph of Pan", "The Triumph of Bacchus", "The Triumph of Neptune". These are the so-called "Bacchanalia" of Poussin, in the creative solution of which the influence of Titian and Raphael is felt. Along with this, paintings appear on historical-mythological and historical-religious subjects, the dramaturgy of which is built according to the laws of the theatrical genre: "The Adoration of the Golden Calf", "The Rape of the Sabine Women", "The Arcadian Shepherds".

In 1640, at the suggestion of Richelieu, Poussin was named "the king's first painter." The artist returns to Paris, where he receives a number of prestigious commissions, including the decoration of the Grand Gallery of the Louvre (remained unfinished). In Paris, Poussin faced the hostile attitude of many of his colleagues, among whom was Simon Vouet.

Life in Paris weighs heavily on the artist, he longs for Rome and in 1643 goes there again, never to return to his homeland. The choice and interpretation of subjects in the works that he creates at this time betray the influence of the philosophy of Stoicism and especially Seneca.

The triumph of the ethical principle and reason over feeling and emotions, of line, drawing and order over picturesqueness and dynamics, is predetermined by the strict normative nature of the creative method, which he strictly follows. In many respects this method has a personal character.

At the origins of the picture there is always an idea, over which the author reflects for a long time in search of the most profound embodiment of meaning. Then this idea is combined with an exact plastic solution that determines the number of characters, composition, angles, rhythm and color. It is followed by sketching for the distribution of light and shade, and the placement of characters, in the form of small figures made of wax or clay, in three-dimensional space, as if in a theater stage box. This allows the artist to determine the spatial relationships and plans of the composition. He paints the picture itself on canvas with a reddish, sometimes light ground, in four stages: first he creates the architectural background and scenes, then he places the characters, carefully processes each detail separately, and at the end he applies paints local in tone with thin brushes.

Throughout his life, Poussin remained lonely. He did not have students in the truest sense of the word, but it is thanks to his work and his influence on his contemporaries in painting that the classicism. His art becomes especially relevant at the turn of the 18th - 19th centuries, in connection with the appearance neoclassicism. In the 19th and 20th centuries, not only Ingres and other academics turned to his art, but also Delacroix, Chasserio, Seurat, Cezanne, Picasso.

The artist depicted himself in the corner of the studio, against the backdrop of the painting, turned back to the viewer. He is in a strict black cloak, from under which a corner of a white collar is visible. In his hands he holds a sketchbook tied with a pink ribbon. The portrait was painted with uncompromising realism, emphasizing all the characteristic features of a large, ugly, but expressive and significant face. The eyes look directly at the viewer, but the artist very accurately conveyed the state of a person immersed in his thoughts. On the left, on one of the canvases, an antique female profile is visible, to which two hands reach out. This allegorical image is interpreted as an image of the Muse, which the creator seeks to keep.

The new Superintendent of the Royal Buildings of France, François Sublet de Noye (1589-1645; in office 1638-1645), surrounds himself with specialists such as Paul Fleur de Chantelou (1609-1694) and Roland Fleir de

Chambray (1606-1676), whom he instructs in every possible way to facilitate the return of Nicolas Poussin from Italy to Paris. For Fleard de Chantleux, the artist performs the painting " Manna from heaven ", which later (1661) the king will acquire for his collection.

A few months later, Poussin nevertheless accepted the royal proposal - “nolens volens”, and arrived in Paris in December 1640. Poussin received the status of the first royal artist and, accordingly, the general direction of the construction of royal buildings, to the strong displeasure of the court painter Simon Vue.

Immediately upon Poussin's return to Paris in December 1640, Louis XIII commissions Poussin to paint a scale painting. "Eucharist" for the altar of the royal chapel of the Saint-Germain Palace . At the same time, in the summer of 1641, Poussin paints Frontispiece for the edition of "Biblia Sacra" , where he depicts God overshadowing two figures: on the left - a feminine angel writing in a huge folio, looking at someone invisible, and on the right - a completely veiled figure (except for the toes) with a small Egyptian sphinx in his hands.

François Sublet de Noyer receives an order for a painting "Miracle of St. Francis Xavier" to house the novitiate of the Jesuit college. The Christ in this image was criticized by Simon Vouet, who said that Jesus "looked more like a thundering Jupiter than like a merciful God."

Poussin's cold-minded normativism won the approval of the court of Versailles and was continued by court painters like Charles Lebrun, who saw in classic painting the ideal artistic language for praising the absolutist state of Louis XIV. It was at this time that Poussin painted his famous painting. "The Magnanimity of Scipio" (1640, Moscow, Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts). The picture belongs to the mature period of the master's work, where the principles of classicism are clearly expressed. They are answered by a strict clear composition and the content itself, glorifying the victory of duty over personal feeling. The plot is borrowed from the Roman historian Titus Livy. The commander Scipio the Elder, who became famous during the wars of Rome with Carthage, returns to the enemy commander Allucius his bride Lucretia, captured by Scipio during the capture of the city along with military booty.

In Paris, Poussin had many orders, but he formed a party of opponents, in the person of the artists Vue, Brekier and Philippe Mercier, who had previously worked on decorating the Louvre. The school of Voue, which enjoyed the patronage of the queen, was especially intriguing against him.

In September 1642, Poussin leaves Paris, moving away from the intrigues of the royal court, with a promise to return. But the death of Cardinal Richelieu (December 4, 1642) and the subsequent death of Louis XIII (May 14, 1643) allowed the painter to stay in Rome forever.

In 1642, Poussin returned to Rome, to his patrons: Cardinal Francesco Barberini and academician Cassiano dal Pozzo, and lived there until his death. From now on, the artist works with only medium-sized formats, ordered by great art lovers - Dal Pozzo, Chantelu, Pointel or Serisier.

Returning to Rome, Poussin completed work commissioned by Cassiano dal Pozzo on a series of paintings "Seven

sacraments”, in which he revealed the deep philosophical meaning of Christian dogmas: “Landscape with the Apostle Matthew”, “Landscape with the Apostle John on the Island of Patmos” (Chicago, Institute of Arts). In 1643 he paints for Chantleux " Ecstasy of St. Paul "(1643, Le Ravissement de Saint Paul), strongly reminiscent of Raphael's painting "The Vision of the Prophet Ezekiel".

The end of the 1640s - the beginning of the 1650s is one of the fruitful periods in the work of Poussin: he painted the paintings “Eliazar and Rebekah”, "Landscape with Diogenes" , « Landscape with a big road » , "The Judgment of Solomon", "The Arcadian Shepherds", the second self-portrait. The themes of his paintings of this period were the virtues and valor of rulers, biblical or ancient heroes. In his canvases, he showed perfect heroes, faithful to civic duty, selfless, generous, while demonstrating the absolute universal ideal of citizenship, patriotism, and spiritual greatness. Creating ideal images based on reality, he consciously corrected nature, taking the beautiful from it and discarding the ugly.

In the last period of creativity (1650-1665), Poussin increasingly turned to the landscape, his characters were connected

with literary, mythological plots: "Landscape with Polyphemus" (Moscow, Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts). But their figures of mythical heroes are small and almost invisible among the huge mountains, clouds and trees. The characters of ancient mythology act here as a symbol of the spirituality of the world. The same idea is expressed by the composition of the landscape - simple, logical, orderly. Spatial plans are clearly separated in the paintings: the first plan is a plain, the second is giant trees, the third is mountains, sky or sea surface. The division into plans was also emphasized in color. This is how a system appeared, later called the “landscape three-color”: in the painting of the first plan, yellow and brown colors predominate, in the second - warm and green, in the third - cold, and above all blue. But the artist was convinced that color is only a means to create volume and deep

space, it should not distract the viewer's eye from the jewelry-accurate drawing and harmoniously organized composition. As a result, an image of an ideal world was born, arranged according to the higher laws of reason. Since the 1650s, ethical and philosophical pathos has been intensifying in Poussin's work. Turning to the subjects of ancient history, likening the biblical and gospel characters to the heroes of classical antiquity, the artist achieved the completeness of the figurative sound, the clear harmony of the whole ( "Rest on the Flight into Egypt" , 1658, Hermitage, St. Petersburg).

The following is of fundamental importance: works on subjects drawn from mythology and literature are mainly associated with an orientation towards the Renaissance in the Venetian version (the influence of Titian is especially felt here), religious subjects are most often clothed in forms specifically inherent in the Baroque (sometimes the young Poussin is not alien to techniques of caravaggism), while historical motifs are expressed in classically strict compositions, analogous to which could be the compositions of Domenichino. At the same time, the corrective effect of the main line (Raphael - antiquity) is tangible everywhere; the latter fits well with the influence of Domenichino, who was sometimes called "Rafael seicento".

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The idea of ​​Order pervaded all the work of the French master. The theoretical positions put forward by a mature master objectively correspond to his artistic practice of the early years and are to a large extent its generalization.

“Things that are perfect,” wrote Poussin, “should not be looked at in a hurry, but slowly, judiciously and carefully. One must use the same methods both to judge them correctly and to do them well.”

What methods are we talking about? The extended answer contains Poussin's famous letter of November 24, 1647, outlining the "theory of modes." The reason for the unusually long message (Poussin used to express his thoughts very concisely) was a capricious letter to Chantel, received by the artist shortly before. Chantelou, whose jealousy was aroused by a painting painted by Poussin for another customer (the Lyon banker Pointel, a close friend of the artist and a collector of his paintings), reproached Poussin in his letter that he honors and loves him less than others. Chantelou saw the proof in the fact that the manner of the paintings performed by Poussin for him, Chantelou, is completely different from the one that the artist chose when performing other orders (in particular, Pointel). Poussin hurried to calm the capricious patron and, although his irritation was great, he took the matter with his usual seriousness. Here are the most important parts of his letter:

“If the picture of Moses in the waters of the Nile, which belongs to Mr. Pointel, fell in love with you,

does this indicate that I created it with more love than yours? Don't you see clearly that the very nature of the plot and your disposition are the cause of this impression, and that the plots that I write for you must be presented in a different manner? This is the whole art of painting. Forgive my boldness if I say that you have shown yourself too hasty in your judgments of my work. It is very difficult to judge correctly if you do not have a great knowledge of the theory and practice of this art in combination. Not only our taste should be the judge, but also the mind.

That's why I want to warn you about one important thing, which will allow you to understand what needs to be considered in the depiction of various subjects in painting.

Our glorious ancient Greeks, the inventors of all things beautiful, found several modes by which they achieved remarkable effects.

This word "modus" means in the proper sense that rational basis or measure and form that we use when creating something, and which do not allow us to go beyond certain limits, forcing us to observe a certain middle and moderation in everything. This medium and moderation is nothing but a definite and fixed method and order within the process by which a thing retains its essence.

Since the modes of the ancients were a collection of different elements connected together, their diversity gave rise to a difference in modes, thanks to which it was possible to understand that each of them always contains something special, and mainly when the components that made up the totality were connected in proportion, which made it possible to evoke various passions in the souls of contemplators. Because of this, the wise ancients ascribed to each one a peculiarity of the impression they made, peculiar to him.

Next comes the enumeration of the modes used by the ancients, and the relationship of each mode with a certain group (type) of plots and the action inherent in the mode are characterized. Thus, the Doric mode corresponds to plots “important, strict and full of wisdom”, Ionian - joyful, Lydian - sad, Hypolydian is characterized as containing “sweet softness”, etc. (It should be noted that there was an obvious misunderstanding with the Phrygian mode: he was given mutually exclusive assessments, which will be discussed below.) Poussin is supported by the largest authorities of antiquity - Plato and Aristotle.

“Good poets,” continues Poussin, “have put great effort and marvelous skill into fitting the words to the verses and placing the feet in accordance with the requirement of the language. Virgil endured this throughout his poem, for for each of the three types of his speech he uses the proper sound of the verse with such skill that it really seems as if by the sound of the words he puts before your eyes the objects he speaks of; so, where he speaks of love, it is clear that he skillfully chose words that are gentle, elegant and extremely pleasant to the ear; where he sings of a military feat, describes a sea battle or a sea adventure, he chose the words cruel, harsh and unpleasant, so that when they are heard or pronounced, they evoke horror. If I painted a picture for you in this manner, you would imagine that I do not love you.”

The last remark, imbued with irony, is a very accurate reaction of the mind to absurd jealousy. Indeed, in fact, Chantelou regards the pictorial manner as an expression of the artist's personal relationship to the customer. For Poussin, such an assessment is unthinkably subjective and borders on ignorance. He contrasts individual whim with the objective laws of art, justified by reason and based on the authority of the ancients. At the same time, it is important to take into account the identity of the methods postulated by Poussin, through which an aesthetic judgment is formed and to which artistic activity is subject.

The invaluable significance of this letter is well recognized by art critics, which, however, cannot be said about aesthetics. Almost thirty years before Nicolas Boileau's famous treatise The Art of Poetry (1674), which has always been at the center of attention of researchers in the aesthetics of classicism, Poussin clearly outlines the main contours of classicist theory.

Mind acts here as the carrier of a universal aesthetic measure that regulates the creative process. It determines the way of correlation and, consequently, the nature of the correspondence of idea and form in a work of art. This correspondence is concretized in the concept of modus, which means a certain order, or, if I may say so, a certain combination of pictorial means. The use of this or that mode is aimed at arousing a certain affect in the perceiver, that is, it is associated with a conscious influence on the viewer's psyche to bring it into line with the spirit of the idea being embodied. Thus, in Poussin's theory, we see the inseparable functional unity of the three components, the idea that embodies its image structure and the "program" of perception.

Poussin's creative methods turned into a rigid system of rules, and the process of working on a painting into imitation. It is not surprising that the skill of the classicist painters began to decline, and in the second half of the 17th century there was no longer a single significant artist in France.

Some

Compositions of literary and mythological orientation ("Echo and Narcissus", Paris, Louvre; "Mars and Venus", Boston, Museum of Fine Arts; "Rinaldo and Armida", Moscow, Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts; "Tancred and Erminia" , St. Petersburg, the Hermitage; "Sleeping Venus", Dresden, Art Gallery; "Aurora and Cephalus", London, National Gallery; and others) are inscribed in horizontal formats of calm, as a rule, proportions and are built on a clear alternation of spatial plans; their rhythmic organization contributes to the unification of "distant" and "close" into a single pattern on the plane of the canvas; the light and color that highlight the main characters of the action are organically woven into the rhythm of the linear pattern. The canvases of this group have a special color richness.

Poussin approaches the depiction of the torment of St. Erasmus in a completely different way (Rome, Vatican Pinakothek). The vertically elongated rectangle of the canvas, the sharply accentuated rhythm of the diagonals, the energetic movement of figures presented from strong angles - this is what first of all characterizes this composition, akin to baroque.

The enlargement of the figures, the naturalism of details (the intestines of the martyr, wound by the executioners on the collar), together with the realistic typification of faces and the thoroughness of the anatomical study, indicate the use of caravaggism by Poussin. Similar features can be found in the Massacre of the Innocents from Chantilly (Museum Condé), although it is more classical in spirit. Clearly Baroque influence is marked by the “Vision of St. Jacob” (Paris, Louvre).

Poussin's appeal to the poetry of Torquato Tasso is somewhat unexpected, but still quite understandable. To a certain extent, the influence of predecessors (for example, the second school of Fontainebleau, or rather, Ambroise Dubois) affected here. Apparently, the cultural mediation of Marino also played a certain role.

The issue, however, is not limited to these circumstances. If Tasso's poetry itself did not correspond much to the spirit of Poussin's creativity, then much in the poet's aesthetic program, which affirmed the fundamental role of allegory in the art of the word, was accepted by Poussin and extended to painting without significant reservations. Blunt, who elucidated this issue quite fully, points out, in particular, cases of direct borrowing by the artist of Tasso's judgments 13 . Thus, turning to Tasso's programmatic work, the famous poem "Jerusalem Liberated", Poussin stepped onto related aesthetic ground.

Rinaldo and Armida

In essence, the artist bypassed what constituted the religious pathos of the poem, and opted for two love stories, the heroes of which were the knights Rinaldo and Tancred, the sorceress Armida and Princess Erminia. The obvious tendentiousness of such a choice is associated with tradition, which largely determined the perception of Tasso's poem in the environment to which Poussin appealed with his art and which, in turn, had a formative effect on his work. As R. Lee rightly noted, the plots drawn by the artist from Jerusalem Liberated quickly gained popularity not only because of their inherent charm, but also because they had a long tradition of pastoralism, dating back to ancient mythology and literature and cultivated by art. Renaissance (you can name such favorite subjects as "Venus and Adonis", "Aurora and Cephalus", "Diana and Endymion", etc.). There are good reasons to believe that Tasso was perceived by Poussin through the prism of this tradition.

The love drama of Rinaldo and Armida is covered by Poussin in all its development; most of the works (paintings and drawings) of the “Tass cycle” are devoted to this plot.

Inflamed with hatred for the crusader Rinaldo, the sorceress Armida decides to destroy him. The young knight comes to the coast of Oronto, where the river, dividing into two branches, flows around the island, and sees a white marble pillar with an inscription inviting the traveler to the wonderful island. A careless young man, leaving his servants, sits in a boat and crosses. Here, to the sounds of magical singing, he falls asleep and finds himself at the mercy of Armida. But the sorceress, captivated by the beauty of the knight, is unable to carry out her evil intent - the place of hatred in her heart has been taken by love. Weaving light chains of flowers, Armida entangles the sleeping Rinaldo with them, transfers him to his chariot and flies across the ocean to the distant island of Happiness. There, in the enchanted gardens of Armida, where spring reigns eternally, lovers enjoy life until the envoys of Goffredo, the leader of the crusaders, overcoming many obstacles, free Rinaldo from love captivity. Called by a sense of duty, the knight leaves his beloved.

Consider a painting from the collection of the Pushkin Museum im. A. S. Pushkin. Here is an episode when Armida, captivated by the beauty of Rinaldo, tries to carefully lift the knight in order to transfer him to the chariot.

The scene is inscribed in a horizontal format, which in its proportions suggests a static construction rather than a dynamic one. However, breaking the “calmness” of the format, Poussin accentuates the diagonal articulation of the plane and thus sets the scheme for dynamic composition. It is characteristic that the “active” diagonal is chosen as the dominant direction - from the lower left corner to the upper right. N. M. Tarabukin defined the properties of this diagonal, which he called the “diagonal of struggle,” as follows: “It does not have too fast pace. The movement unfolds slowly, because it encounters obstacles on its way that need to be overcome. The overall tone of the composition sounds major.

Two groups of linear repetitions are easily fixed in the picture: the diagonal-dominant group (the figure of the river god, the flow of water, the chariot, horses, cloud, etc.) and the contrasting group of “obstacles” (the tree trunk in the upper left corner, the figure of Armida, female figures driving a chariot, etc.). Their interaction streamlines whimsical configurations of subject forms, links elements of different spatial plans on the plane of the canvas. Less pronounced vertical and horizontal articulation. It is characteristic that the figure of Rinaldo, only by the details of its construction, is included in the energetic interaction of the diagonals, generally obeying the rhythm of the horizontal articulations and being the most "passive" of the figures.

Considering the structure of the picture "in depth", we can, with a certain convention, distinguish three main plans: the first, which corresponds to the allegories of the river and stream; the second - Rinaldo, Armida and cupids; the third is a group with a chariot. The first plan is rhythmically likened to the third; at the same time, the parallel diagonals are given different directions: in the foreground - from the right / top to left / down (by the flow of water), on the third - from the left / from bottom to right / up (by the movement of the chariot). Further, the foreground figure of the river god is turned with its back to the viewer, while the female figures of the third plan are given facing the viewer. There is an effect, as it were, of a mirror image of the near and far plans in each other. The space of the picture is closed, and the middle plan receives a strong accent. The compositional significance of the background is emphasized by the profile position of the figures of Rinaldo and Armida, presented vis-a-vis.

Color and light accents are placed at the vertices of a triangle that unites figures of different spatial plans, and are brought into harmony with the rhythmic scheme. Revealing the “impact” positions of this scheme, light and color act as regulators of the intonation of the image: the contrasts of red, blue and golden yellow in the second and third plan groups sound like exclamations. It is characteristic that in shock positions the color is cleared of impurities, approaching the local color. With regard to light, it is important to specifically note that its “entry” into the picture is subject to a direction that is contrasting with the dominant diagonal - from left / top to right / down. In the cited work of Tarabukin, this direction is interpreted precisely as the “diagonal of entry”: “The participants in the action usually enter along this diagonal in order to remain within the picture space.”

So, at all levels of the organization of the image, the "effect of the struggle" can be traced, expressing the real struggle in which the magical metamorphosis of the characters takes place. The knight, the embodiment of militancy and strength, is defenseless, his formidable weapons have become the toy of a little cupid. But the sorceress, who put to sleep and deprived the knight of protection, turns out to be unarmed in the face of young beauty. The confrontation between the two forces, their struggle and enmity, turns into its opposite through the third: the color sounds solemnly major, the light fills the space of the image, shining figures of winged children appear from the forest darkness (their entry into the picture space as a whole coincides with the direction of the light flux) , and together with them enters, descends onto the stage, the main character - Love. Her appearance is akin to the intervention of a deity at the end of an ancient tragedy (deus ex machina).

When we use the word "scene" in this context, we mean something more specific than the conventional figurative expression implies. The alternation and functions of spatial plans in Poussin's painting find a direct analogy in the organization of the theatrical stage: the first plan is the proscenium, the second is the stage itself, the third is the background scenery (backdrop). Structurally interconnected first and third planes are also compared in a semantic sense. Both plans belong to the space of the "frame" of the main action; in this sense - and only in this sense - one can speak of their decorative function (cf. the version of the composition "Rinaldo and Armida" from London Dulwich College devoid of "framing"). At the same time, the mythologized representation of the river and the stream finds an echo in the third plan group, which is easily correlated with the image of the chariot of Helios, a stable component of Poussin's paintings and drawings on mythological subjects. The scene from Tasso thus acquires a mythological halo.

However, we should not just talk about the scene presented in the mythological "scenery", but about the displacement of the entire semantic plan, about the reorientation of the literary plot to the mythological prototype.

As Lee's study mentioned above showed, the Moscow painting goes back to ancient reliefs dedicated to the myth of Selene and Endymion in a number of elements. According to one version of this myth, the goddess Selene puts the beautiful Endymion to sleep in order to kiss the sleeping young man. In this situation, it is not difficult to see an analogue of the plot borrowed by Poussin from Tasso's poem.

To the topic Lamentations for Christ Poussin turns and at the beginning of his career (Munich) and in the second half of the 50s (Dublin), being already a mature master. Both pictures represent the same moment from the history of the Passion of Christ, set forth in the Gospel of Matthew. The secret follower of Jesus, Joseph of Arimathea, having received permission from Pontius Pilate to remove the body of the Crucified from the cross and bury him, hurries to perform the burial rite before Saturday, when it was strictly forbidden to work and bury.

Comparison of both canvases characterizes the evolution of the master's style from the increased pathos and emphasized dramatic effects of the Munich painting to the noble simplicity, rigor and restraint in the later version.

On an early canvas, the body of Christ in a bent position, with his head thrown back, lies on the lap of the Mother of God and Mary Magdalene. The artist uses sharp angles and movements to convey their grief. The pyramidal construction of the central part of the composition ends with the figure of Joseph of Arimathea, bent over the tomb, where he is preparing to place the body of the Savior. Turning his head, he looks intently at the viewer, as if inviting him to join this scene. Next to him, on a stone sarcophagus, sits John the Evangelist, with a pathetic expression of sorrow, turning his gaze to heaven. Two angels at the feet of Christ are crying, frozen in unstable poses. At the head of the Savior, vessels were overturned, in which women brought incense to anoint the dead body. Everything is filled with internal movement, enhanced by the dynamics of the diagonal lines of the compositional construction.

It is this dynamic that is excluded from the artistic solution of the late painting, the composition of which is based on a clear opposition of horizontal lines and vertical accents. The clear, balanced structure, which is generally characteristic of Poussin's mature style, inspires a different mood in the viewer. Everything is ordered here - the body of the deceased, stretched parallel to the front edge of the canvas, and the folds on the shroud in which it is wrapped, and the poses of all those present (unlike the first picture, the angels disappear here, but another Mary mentioned in the Gospel of Matthew appears), and a vessel for incense, firmly standing on a pedestal.

Kingdom of Flora

In the picture, the heroes of Ovid's Metamorphoses are allegorically connected, who after their death were turned into flowers. They are dominated by three deities associated with spring - Flora, Priapus and Apollo, who rules the quadriga of the Sun.

Collected together, these characters introduce a theme into the content of the picture. Vanitas- the futility and senselessness that fills human pride and passions, the efforts of a person to rise above his frailty and weakness. Young and beautiful, having won the love of the gods, all these heroes failed, their beauty turned into tragic consequences, and they all died. By the gods who loved them, they were turned into flowers in order to thus rise from non-existence, but with all their perfection, flowers remain the most fragile and short-lived creations.

Et in Arcadia Ego

The plot has no specific literary source. The motif of the sarcophagus in Arcadia is found in the fifth eclogue of Virgil, where the poet tells about the friends of Daphnis, a beautiful shepherd, the son of Hermes and a nymph who died from unhappy love. They mourn his death and write an epitaph on his sarcophagus.

The motif appears again in the Renaissance, in the poem "Arcadia" by Jacopo Sannazaro (1502). At the same time, Arcadia itself begins to be perceived as a symbol of an earthly paradise, where eternal happiness reigns. The theme of Arcadian shepherds becomes popular with Renaissance masters. Guercino's painting is the first reference to her known to us.

Young shepherds accidentally discovered a stone sarcophagus in the beautiful, idyllic nature, on which lies a skull. This discovery made them stop and think deeply. The artist naturalistically accurately demonstrates all the signs of decay on a skull dilapidated by time, without embellishing or softening them at all. Thus, the theme of death is even stronger and more definite in the picture. The image of the skull connects her with symbolic still lifes. vanitas and memento mori, the allegorical meanings of which are undoubtedly contained in this work.

The meaning of this moral allegory is revealed in the opposition of the beauty of the surrounding world, youth, on the one hand, and death and decay, on the other. Seeing the symbols of Death, the young shepherds seem to hear her words “And I am in Arcadia”, which remind them that Death is invisibly present everywhere.

The Louvre painting by Poussin is a moral allegory in terms of genre, but instructive pathos is noticeably reduced in it, compared with its first version and Guercino's painting. It is filled with melancholic intonations and philosophical reflections on the meaning of life.

In the first version of the painting, Poussin closely follows Guercino's figurative solution.

The artist depicts a group of shepherds approaching the sarcophagus, on which the inscription "Et in Arcadia ego" is visible, and a skull lies on top. The shepherds stopped in front of an unexpected find and excitedly read the text. Like Guercino, it is the skull that plays a key role in interpreting the meaning, since these words are directly related to it. As if Death itself says that it is present everywhere, even here, in beautiful Arcadia, the realm of youth, love and happiness. Therefore, in general, the picture is close in meaning to still lifes. memento mori, with their moral edification.

To the right of the group of shepherds is a half-naked man with an amphora from which water flows. This is the personification of the river god of the underground river Alpheus, which crosses Arcadia. Here it appears as an allegorical allusion to knowledge hidden from prying eyes, pouring like a stream.

The Louvre version treats the theme in a different way, and the main difference is the absence of a skull. The refusal to depict the skull connects the prophetic words no longer with Death, but with the one whose ashes are in the sarcophagus. And already he calls out from non-existence, recalling how fleeting youth, beauty, love. An elegiac mood resounds in the poses frozen without movement of the heroes, in their state of deep thought, in a concise and perfect composition, in the purity of color.

However, the meaning of the picture is clear to us only in general terms. The above interpretation, for example, does not explain the change in the image of the female figure compared to the first option. If in the earlier picture Poussin really depicts a half-naked shepherdess, whose appearance hints at love joys in the beautiful Arcadian nature, then this female image clearly has a different characteristic.

Attempts were made to give the picture an esoteric interpretation: Poussin, with the help of classical allegory, expresses Christian symbolic meanings, which, however, are accessible only to initiates. In this case, the shepherds are likened to the apostles, and the female figure is likened to Mary Magdalene, standing at the empty tomb of Jesus Christ. In addition, there is an assumption that the inscription, which, in terms of the rules of the Latin language, contains an inexplicable grammatical inaccuracy - the absence of a verb - is in fact an anagram. There are several options for deciphering it: ET IN ARCADIA EGO = I TEGO ARCANA DEI (Go, I keep the secrets of God); if we add the grammatically necessary verb sum, then the following anagram is added - ET IN ARCADIA EGO SUM = TANGO ARCAM DIE IESU (I touch the tomb of the Lord Jesus).

Poussin addressed this theme twice in his work. The second version, which is in the Louvre, is probably the most famous painting by the master. Its dating is still disputed. There is a version that it was written after 1655. Special studies of the canvas showed that the technique of execution is closer to the later works of Poussin. But most scholars attribute the painting to the late 1630s.

Adoration of the golden calf

The Adoration of the Golden Calf, along with its sister painting Crossing the Red Sea, which is now in Melbourne, were painted around 1634. Both works illustrate various episodes from the book of Exodus of the Old Testament. This is the second book of the Pentateuch of Moses, which tells about the exodus of the Jews from Egypt, forty years of wandering in the desert, and finally, finding the Promised Land. The episode with the golden calf refers to the 32nd chapter of Exodus.

According to the text of the Old Testament (Exodus, 32), the people of Israel, worried about the long absence of Moses, who ascended Mount Sinai at the command of Yahweh, asked Aaron to make a god who would lead them instead of the departed Moses. Aaron gathered all the gold and made a calf out of it, to which "they offered burnt offerings and offered peace offerings."

“And the Lord said to Moses: Get out of here quickly, for your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt, have become corrupt; they soon strayed from the path that I commanded them…”

The story of the golden calf becomes a symbol of apostasy, renunciation of the true God and idol worship. It is this meaning that Poussin emphasizes, leaving Moses breaking the tablets in the background, and focusing the viewer's attention on the unrestrained dance, on the triumphant gesture of Aaron and the gratitude of the people to him.

Parnassus

One of the most difficult questions for understanding this work is the problem of identifying the poet who stepped onto Parnassus and handed his books to Apollo. Erwin Panofsky suggested that this was the Italian poet Gianbattista Marino, a friend and patron of the artist. Marino died in 1625, but his contemporaries considered him equal to the great ancient authors. Poussin's painting expresses the highest appreciation of his talent; it is no coincidence that he is the only mortal introduced into the circle of Apollo and the Muses. Marino's two works, Adonis and Massacre of the Innocents, were especially popular, with which he is probably depicted here.

In general, Poussin's painting is not only an illustration of the myth of Parnassus, Apollo and the Muses, as is often the case in the works of other artists on this topic. This myth is correlated by the master with the realities of the history of culture and becomes a means for building a certain value hierarchy in it.

The image of the god Apollo, as a symbol of divine, pure poetic inspiration, creativity that has a divine source, occupies an important place in Poussin's painting. This is also connected with the highest role that the artist gives to creativity, the arts, in culture and in human life.

One of his early references to this image is his pictorial incarnation of the myth of Apollo and Daphne. The literary source of this picture, which Poussin wrote in 1625, is also Ovid's Metamorphoses (I, 438-550). Ovid tells about Cupid's revenge on Apollo, who, proud of his victory over Python, began to joke with the young god, seeing him armed with a bow and arrows. Apollo said that it was not fitting for a boy to carry a weapon, and Cupid should be content only with a torch that kindles love, a feeling alien to the almighty Apollo.

Then Cupid directed an arrow at Apollo, kindling love, and he was inflamed with passion for the nymph Daphne, daughter of the river god Peneus and Gaia. Daphne, the god of love, was wounded by an arrow that kills love, and she took a vow of celibacy, like Diana. In vain, Apollo, for the first time experiencing such feelings, sought the love of Daphne. Fleeing from his persecution, Daphne turned to her father with a prayer, and was turned into a laurel.

The episode when Apollo almost overtakes Daphne, but before his eyes she turns into a laurel tree, has become a favorite for European artists, sculptors, poets, musicians. It is him that Poussin depicts in his picture. Next to Apollo and Daphne, with an urn from which water flows, the river god Peneus is depicted. The laurel tree has since become the emblem of Apollo, he always wears a laurel wreath on his head. It is believed that the laurel has a cleansing and prophetic power, is a symbol of victory and peace. A laurel wreath crowned the head of the winner in a poetic competition.

Poussin's painting is closely connected with Raphael's frescoes in the Stanza della Senyatura and allows us to judge how the style of the French master was formed under the influence of the great Italian.

The dating of the painting is still controversial. Most researchers attribute it to the beginning of the 1630s, justifying this by the similarity between the figure of Apollo and the image of Crocus in the Kingdom of Flora.

Death of Germanicus

The Death of Germanicus (Minneapolis, Institute of Art) is built like an antique bas-relief. The movement of a group of warriors is very clearly organized, approaching the bed of the dying commander from left to right, their restrained gestures are subject to a strict rhythm. The profile image of most figures is characteristic. As if the verticals of the high interior are drawn. Ancient Rome is resurrected in Poussin's composition.

The painting was commissioned by Cardinal Francesco Barberini in 1626 and completed in 1628. Bellori testifies that the artist had the right to choose the subject himself. The English artist Henry Fuseli noted in 1798 that no other work of Poussin was so universally admired, and even if the author had not created any other picture, he would have earned himself immortality thanks to this one.

This is the finest work produced by Poussin in his early Roman years, and one of the most original in all his work. Epic in theme and classical in design, it introduces a new plot into Western European art - the image of a hero on his deathbed. The painting had a huge impact on the neoclassicism of the late 18th - first half of the 19th centuries. It lays the foundation for a neoclassical commitment to scenes of heroic death. The British masters B. West and G. Hamilton create their own versions of the history of Germanicus; J. Reynolds was inspired by it. Many copies of it were created by outstanding French artists Grez, David, Gericault, Delacroix, Moreau.

A number of sculptors also borrowed the composition of this work, obviously feeling its ancient roots.

Before Poussin, none of the artists turned to this image. The source was the "Annals" of Tacitus (II, 71-2), which tells about the Roman general Germanicus (15 BC - 19 AD). He was the nephew and adopted son of the emperor Tiberius, married to the granddaughter of Augustus Agrippina. Their son is the future emperor Caligula, and their grandson is Nero.

Germanicus gained great fame and authority in the army, thanks to his victories over the Germanic tribes, courage, courage and modesty, sharing with his soldiers all the hardships of the war. Tiberius, envious of his fame, ordered to secretly poison him.

Despite the coloring, demonstrating Poussin's familiarity with the works of Titian, the composition of the painting goes back to classical examples of antiquity. This is felt both in the frieze-like construction of figures in the foreground and in the organizing role of architecture. Perhaps this decision was inspired by ancient sarcophagi depicting the death of a hero - a theme that often appears in the plastic of sarcophagi. Some researchers noted that a carpet from the series “The Death of the Emperor Constantine” by Rubens, presented to Cardinal Francesco Barberini by King Louis XIII in September 1625, could become a closer example for such a compositional solution.

The plot of the picture as an exemplum virtutis, in addition to becoming a role model in the art of neoclassicism, can also be associated with other, later works of Poussin himself. However, the reasons why in 1627 Poussin's choice fell on him remain unclear. One suggestion is that Tacitus describes his hero as a man devoid of envy and cruelty, in whose behavior one feels great self-control, he is faithful to his duty, his friends, his family, and unusually modest in life. This was the ideal of Poussin himself, and this description is close to his own nature in his years of maturity.

In contact with

The greatest French artist of the 17th century, Nicolas Poussin, said that the perception of a work of art requires concentrated reflection and hard work of thought. “My nature,” he noted, “causes me to seek and love things perfectly organized, avoiding disorder, which is as disgusting to me as darkness is to light.” These words reflected the aesthetic principles of classicism, which Poussin not only followed, but was also their creator in painting. Classicism - an artistic direction and style in the literature and plastic arts of France in the 17th century - relied on the ancient and Renaissance heritage and reflected the ideas of public duty, reason, sublime heroism and impeccable morality. Creative practice turned out to be much broader than the normative provisions of the doctrine. The works of Poussin, saturated with deep thought, first of all conquer with the vital fullness of images. He was attracted by the beauty of human feelings, reflections on the fate of man, the theme of poetic creativity. Of particular importance for the philosophical and artistic conception of Poussin was the theme of nature as the highest embodiment of reasonable and natural harmony.

Nicolas Poussin was born near the Norman town of Andely. As a young man, after several years of wandering and a short work in Paris, he settled in Rome, where he lived all his life. Once, at the insistence of Louis XIII, he had to return to France for two years, but his views and work did not meet with either support or understanding there, and the very atmosphere of court life caused disgust.

Poussin's quest has come a long way. Already in one of his early paintings, The Death of Germanicus (1626-1628, Minneapolis, Institute of Art), he turns to the methods of classicism and anticipates many of his later works in the field of historical painting. Germanicus - a courageous and valiant commander, the hope of the Romans - was poisoned by order of the suspicious and envious emperor Tiberius. The painting depicts Germanicus on his deathbed, surrounded by his family and loyal warriors. But not personal grief, but civic pathos - serving the motherland and duty - is the figurative meaning of this canvas. Germanicus, who is dying, takes an oath of allegiance and revenge from the Roman legionnaires, harsh, strong and full of dignity people. All actors are located like a relief.

Having embarked on the path of classicism, Poussin sometimes went beyond its borders. His paintings of the 1620s The Massacre of the Innocents (Chantilly, Conde Museum) and The Martyrdom of Saint Erasmus (1628-1629, Vatican, Pinacoteca) are close to caravaggism and baroque in their exaggeratedly dramatic interpretation of the situation and images, devoid of ideality. The tension of facial expressions and the swiftness of movement are distinguished by the expressive “Descent from the Cross” in the Hermitage (c. 1630) and “Lamentation” in the Munich Pinakothek (c. 1627). At the same time, the construction of both paintings, in which plastically tangible figures are included in the overall rhythm of the composition, is flawless. The color scheme is subject to a well-thought-out ratio of colorful spots. The Munich canvas is dominated by various shades of gray, with which blue-blue and bright red tones are exquisitely contrasted.

Poussin rarely portrayed the suffering of Christ. The bulk of his works are connected with biblical, mythological and literary subjects. The antique theme of his early works, in which Titian's fascination with color has affected, affirms the bright joy of life. The figures of swarthy satyrs, charming nymphs, cheerful cupids are full of that soft and smooth movement, which the master called "body language". The painting “The Kingdom of Flora” (1631, Dresden, Art Gallery), inspired by the motives of Ovid’s Metamorphoses, depicts the heroes of ancient myths who, after their death, gave life to various flowers that adorned the fragrant kingdom of the goddess Flora. The death of Ajax throwing himself at the sword, the doom of the mortally wounded Adonis and Hyacinth, the suffering of the lovers Smila and Crokon do not overshadow the reigning jubilant mood. The blood flowing from Hyacinth's head turns into falling petals of wonderful blue flowers, a red carnation grows from Ajax's blood, Narcissus admires his reflection in a vase of water held by the nymph Echo. Like a colorful living wreath, the characters of the picture surround the dancing goddess. The canvas of Poussin embodies the idea of ​​the immortality of nature, which gives life eternal renewal. This life is brought to the heroes by the laughing goddess Flora, showering them with white flowers, and the radiant light of the god Helios, who makes his fiery run in golden clouds.

The dramatic beginning, which is included in the works of Poussin, gives his images a sublime character. The Hermitage canvas (1630s) is dedicated to the love of the princess of Antioch, the Amazonian Erminia, for the crusader knight Tancred. Its plot is taken from Tasso's poem Jerusalem Delivered. Wounded in a duel, Tancred is supported by his faithful friend Vafrin. Erminia, having just dismounted from her horse, rushes to her lover and with a wave of a sparkling sword cuts off a lock of her blond hair in order to bandage his wounds. Erminia's love is likened to a heroic feat. The painting is built on the artist's favorite contrast of blue, red and orange-yellow. The landscape is flooded with the flaming brilliance of the evening dawn. Here everything is proportionate, easy to read at a glance and everything is significant. The language of strict, pure, balanced forms dominates, the linear and color rhythm is perfect.

The theme of life and death runs through all of Poussin's work. In the Kingdom of Flora, it acquired the character of a poetic allegory; in The Death of Germanicus, it was associated with ethical, heroic issues. In the paintings of the 1640s and later, this theme was saturated with philosophical depth. The myth of Arcadia, a country of serene happiness, was often embodied in art. But Poussin expressed in this idyllic plot the idea of ​​the transience of life and the inevitability of death. The artist depicted shepherds who unexpectedly discovered a tomb with the inscription "And I was in Arcadia ..." - a reminder of the fragility of life, of the coming end. In the early version (1628-1629, Chatsworth, meeting of the Dukes of Devonshire), more emotional, full of movement and drama, the confusion of young shepherds is strongly expressed, who seemed to face death invading their bright world.

The plot of the Louvre painting "The Triumph of the Poet" (Paris, Louvre) seems to border on an allegory - the crowning of a young poet with a laurel wreath in the presence of the god Apollo and Calliope, the muse of epic poetry. The idea of ​​the picture - the birth of beauty in art, its triumph - is perceived vividly and figuratively, without the slightest artificiality. The images are united by a common system of feelings. The muse, standing next to Apollo, is a living personification of beauty. The compositional structure of the picture, with its outward simplicity, is in its way exemplary for classicism. Subtly found displacements, turns, movements of figures, a tree pushed aside, a flying cupid - all these techniques, without depriving the composition of clarity and balance, bring a sense of life into it. The picture is saturated with yellow-gold, blue and red colors, which gives it a special solemnity.

The image of nature as the personification of the highest harmony of being runs through all of Poussin's work. Walking in the vicinity of Rome, he studied the landscapes of the Roman Campagna with his usual inquisitiveness. His lively impressions are conveyed in wonderful landscape drawings from nature, full of freshness of perception and subtle lyricism. The picturesque landscapes of Poussin are devoid of this sense of immediacy, the ideal beginning is more pronounced in them. Poussin landscapes are imbued with a sense of the grandeur and grandeur of the world. Heaping rocks, lush trees, crystal-clear lakes, cool springs flowing among stones and shady bushes are combined in a plastically whole, integral composition based on the alternation of spatial plans, each of which is located parallel to the plane of the canvas. The restrained range of colors is usually based on a combination of cold blue and bluish tones of the sky, water and warm brownish tones of soil and rocks.

"Landscape with Polyphemus" (1649, St. Petersburg, State Hermitage Museum) is perceived as a solemn hymn to nature. Cyclops Polyphemus, as if growing out of gray rocks, plays the song of love on the flute to the sea nymph Galatea. The warm southern sea, mighty mountains, shady groves and the deities inhabiting them, nymphs and satyrs, a plowman behind a plow and a shepherd among herds, listen to the sounds of the melody. The impression of the infinity of space is enhanced by the fact that Polyphemus, depicted with his back to the viewer, looks into the distance. Everything is overshadowed by a wonderful dark blue sky with light white clouds.

The mighty majesty of nature conquers in the “Landscape with Hercules and Cacus” (1649, Moscow, the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts), which depicts the victory of Hercules over the giant Cacus. Although the hero accomplished a feat, nothing disturbs the clear and strict peace poured in the picture.

Depicting John the Evangelist on the island of Patmos, Poussin abandons the traditional interpretation of this image. He creates a landscape of rare beauty and mood - a living personification of beautiful Hellas. In the interpretation of Poussin, the image of John does not resemble a Christian hermit, but a true thinker.

The famous landscape cycle Four Seasons was made by the artist in the last years of his life (1660-1664, Paris, Louvre). Each landscape has a symbolic meaning. “Spring” (this landscape depicts Adam and Eve in paradise) is the flowering of the world, the childhood of mankind. “Summer”, where the harvest scene is presented, the time of hot labor, personifies the idea of ​​maturity and fullness of being. Winter depicts the flood, the death of life. Water rushing to the ground inexorably absorbs all living things. There is no escape anywhere. Lightning flashes cut through the darkness of the night, and nature, seized with despair, appears numb and motionless. The tragic "Winter" is the last work of the artist.

Alien to careerism and external success, Poussin lived a worthy, noble life. In the memory of generations, the art of the artist and his image inextricably merged with him in the late Self-Portrait he created (1650, Paris, Louvre) remained. Time silvered the dark hair of the aging master, but did not deprive him of the firmness of his posture; The transfer of individual similarity does not prevent the creation of a deeply generalized image. For Poussin, an artist is first of all a thinker, he sees the value of a person in the strength of his intellect, in creative power. The value of Poussin's property for his time and subsequent eras is enormous. His true heirs were not the French academicians of the second half of the 17th century, who distorted the traditions of the great master, but the representatives of the revolutionary neoclassicism of the 18th century, who managed to express the new ideas of their era in the forms of this art.

Tatyana Kaptereva