- Date of birth: 15 June 1594
- Date of death: 19 Nov 1665
- Country: France
Biography:
Nicolas Poussin was born in 1594 in the Norman town of Les Andelys. Already in his youth received a good General education and then he began to study painting. At 18 he went to Paris, where she continued her studies under the guidance of the famous portraitist van Ella, and then other masters. Really helped him to hone the technique – visits to the Louvre, where he copied the paintings of the Italians of the Renaissance.
During this period Poussin finds some recognition. To further improve the skill, he went to Rome, who was then a Mecca for painters of all countries. Here he continued to hone their skills by studying the tracts Da Vinci and Michelangelo, closely studying and measuring the proportions of ancient sculptures, communicating with other artists. It was during this period his work takes the features of classicism, one of whose pillars Nicolas Poussin is considered to be still.
The artist drew inspiration from the works of classic and contemporary poets, in theatrical performances, philosophical treatises, biblical themes. But even the canonical stories allowed him to portray the reality surrounding him, filling canvases of perfectly executed distinctive images of landscapes and plans. Skill and established his own style brought the artist recognition in Rome, he was invited to paint the Cathedral, commissioned him paintings on classical and historical subjects. It is to this period belongs the software the painting “Death of Germanicus”, which gathered together all characteristic of European classicism features.
In 1639, at the invitation of cardinal Richelieu, Poussin again comes to Paris to decorate the Louvre gallery. A year Louis XIII under the impression of his talent appointed him his first painter. Poussin admitted at court, he were vying with each other to order pictures for their castles and galleries. But the intrigues of an envious local artistic elite forced him in 1642 again to leave Paris and go to Rome. Here he lived until the end of his days, and the last years of his life, of course, became the most fruitful stage in the ego’s creativity. Poussin at this time I began to pay more attention to the image of nature, spending a lot of time drawing from life. Definitely one of the best incarnations of this trend in his work was the cycle “the seasons”, completed shortly before his death. Like other paintings of the painter, these paintings harmoniously combine naturalistic and idealism throughout his life Nicolas Poussin did not leave his works.
He died in the autumn of 1665 in Rome.