Nicolas Poussin, “The Father of French Painting”

You may have some questions, as we’ve been talking about art for so long, but the so-called “Capital of Art,” France, hasn’t been mentioned much. Today, let’s talk about “The Father of French Painting,” Nicolas Poussin.

Nicolas Poussin, “The Father of French Painting”

1. Poussin (1594-1665) was the leader of 17th-century French classical painting and held an unparalleled position in the French art scene. It can be said that without Poussin, there would be no entire French school of painting, nor would there be French academicism. Poussin’s style influenced many young French artists of the time and continued to affect later French painters, including Cézanne and Ingres.
2. Poussin, whose full name was Nicolas Poussin, was born in the Normandy region of France into a poor family. After turning 30, he moved to Rome, where he entered a period of prolific creation. At 46, his fame led to invitations from the French King and Cardinal, prompting his return to France. However, unable to tolerate the court’s intrigues, he returned to Italy, where he remained until his death. Although he spent most of his career in Italy, he is still regarded as “The Father of French Painting.”
3. Before Poussin, there were hardly any internationally renowned French painters. During his time in France, Poussin introduced his harmonious compositional ideas and brought many exquisite Italian artistic concepts to the French art world. His influence was immense for young French artists, and Charles Le Brun, the founder of the French Academy, had studied under Poussin.
4. Poussin’s paintings were mostly historical scenes, a common theme of the time, depicting major events in ancient history such as important wars and specific scenes involving philosophers, religious figures, and scholars. Unlike other historical painters, Poussin introduced a great deal of landscape into his works, bolder than the Venetian school, which made his paintings distinct from the Renaissance and early Baroque painters of the time. For example, in his representative work Diogenes in the Wilderness, the figures occupy a small space in the composition, making it more like a landscape painting than a traditional historical painting.
5. Poussin was not a typical painter in the traditional sense, but rather a well-read, multifaceted scholar, which made him stand out among many Western artists. Even in his historical paintings, there was a deeper meaning. His extensive studies of ancient Greek and Roman texts made his paintings more nuanced and imbued with classical cultural qualities. In Diogenes in the Wilderness, Poussin portrays the Cynic philosopher Diogenes traveling through the forest. He uses the simple act of Diogenes discarding his bowl to convey his understanding of Diogenes’ philosophy of returning to nature and rejecting the material world.
6. Poussin’s paintings exude a sense of “ultimate harmony.” The canvas size is usually not large, but the works are meticulously crafted, with perfect composition and a strong sense of balance. His representative work The Shepherds of Arcadia features a balanced number of characters, and if you connect their limbs with straight lines, it will resemble the harmony found in Chinese characters. Three hundred years later, Cézanne was inspired by Poussin, abstracting objects into geometric shapes in his paintings to achieve a macro-level harmony and timeless composition.
7. Poussin’s The Shepherds of Arcadia is one of the most profound works in the history of art. In the painting, four shepherds, wearing flower crowns and holding staffs, are reading an inscription on a stone tablet that reads: “Even in Arcadia, I exist.” This inscription makes the painting’s meaning quite obscure, with the most common interpretation being that “I” represents death, implying that even in a beautiful world like Arcadia, death is still inevitable.
8. Another significant contribution of Poussin was the separation of painting from “manual labor,” elevating it to true art. Before Poussin, painters still worked according to orders, and painting was viewed as a form of “manual labor.” These commission-based paintings, which had commercial value, were not considered true art. Poussin, however, was truly passionate about painting. Even without commissions or external requests, he would continue painting on his own. Furthermore, many great artists had their own workshops, where apprentices would help with less important parts of the work, but Poussin was fully independent in his artistic creation and would never allow others to participate in his art.