THINGS that are perfect in some way should not be looked at hastily, but over time, with judgment and intelligence,’ wrote Nicolas Poussin to an official of the court of Louis XIII, in 1642. The artist was 47 and at the height of his powers, acclaimed both in his native France —where, for two years, he had enjoyed the prestigious position of the first painter to the king —and in Rome, to which he shortly returned.
Unusually among the work of French Baroque artists, Poussin’s painting rejected giddy emotionalism in favor of slow appraisal. A cerebral quality characterizes many of his paintings and, often, a stillness suggestive of Classical sculpture. In works such as The Adoration of the Golden Calf of 1633–34 and the densely wrought Hymenaios Disguised as a Woman During an Offering to Priapus, painted shortly afterward, his figurative groups explicitly recall the carved friezes and bas reliefs of ancient Athens and Rome. As in the work of Classical artists, he depicts idealized figures in idyllic surrounds, positioned, in a conceit borrowed from Titian, within a landscape of distant blue mountains. The crisp lines of many of his paintings point to the lasting influence of Raphael, whose work he encountered as a young man in the collection of France’s queen mother, Marie de Médicis, in the newly built Luxembourg Palace. However, viewers have failed to find in Poussin’s carefully rendered set pieces the warmth that typically irradiates Raphael’s serene vision or the vigour of Titian.
Denne historien er fra October 06, 2021-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra October 06, 2021-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Kitchen garden cook - Apples
'Sweet and crisp, apples are the epitome of autumn flavour'
The original Mr Rochester
Three classic houses in North Yorkshire have come to the market; the owner of one inspired Charlotte Brontë to write Jane Eyre
Get it write
Desks, once akin to instruments of torture for scribes, have become cherished repositories of memories and secrets. Matthew Dennison charts their evolution
'Sloes hath ben my food'
A possible paint for the Picts and a definite culprit in tea fraud, the cheek-suckingly sour sloe's spiritual home is indisputably in gin, says John Wright
Souvenirs of greatness
FOR many years, some large boxes have been stored and forgotten in the dark recesses of the garage. Unpacked last week, the contents turned out to be pots: some, perhaps, nearing a century old—dense terracotta, of interesting provenance.
Plants for plants' sake
The garden at Hergest Croft, Herefordshire The home of Edward Banks The Banks family is synonymous with an extraordinary collection of trees and shrubs, many of which are presents from distinguished friends, garnered over two centuries. Be prepared to be amazed, says Charles Quest-Ritson
Capturing the castle
Seventy years after Christian Dior’s last fashion show in Scotland, the brand returned under creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri for a celebratory event honouring local craftsmanship, the beauty of the land and the Auld Alliance, explains Kim Parker
Nature's own cathedral
Our tallest native tree 'most lovely of all', the stately beech creates a shaded environment that few plants can survive. John Lewis-Stempel ventures into the enchanted woods
All that money could buy
A new book explores the lost riches of London's grand houses. Its author, Steven Brindle, looks at the residences of plutocrats built by the nouveaux riches of the late-Victorian and Edwardian ages
In with the old
Diamonds are meant to sparkle in candlelight, but many now gather dust in jewellery boxes. To wear them today, we may need to reimagine them, as Hetty Lintell discovers with her grandmother's jewellery