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Poussin and Nature: Arcadian Visions (Metropolitan Museum of Art)
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Product Description
The work of the great French painter Nicolas Poussin (1594–1665) is most often associated with classically inspired settings and figures depicting solemn scenes from mythology or the Bible. Yet he also created some of the most influential landscapes in Western art, endowing them with a poetic quality that has been admired by artists as different as Constable, Turner, and Cézanne. As the British critic William Hazlitt noted in 1844, “This great and learned man might be said to see nature through the glass of time.”
This beautiful catalogue presents the first in-depth examination of Poussin’s landscapes. Featured here are more than 40 paintings, ranging from the artist’s early Venetian-inspired pastorals to his grandly structured and austere works, designed as metaphors or allegories for the processes of nature. Also included are approximately 60 drawings and essays by internationally renowned scholars who examine the painter’s visual, literary, and philosophical influences as well as his relationships with his patrons and his place in the art-historical canon.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #436679 in Books
- Published on: 2008-03-03
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Binding: Hardcover
- 432 pages
Editorial Reviews
Review
"This beautifully illustrated catalogue contains essays by a half-dozen scholars who present an authoritative look into Poussin''s landscape paintings. Highly impressive."-Art Times (Art Times 20080501)
"The quantity and superb quality of the color plates is typical for this publisher."-Reference & Research Book News (Reference & Research Book News )
About the Author
Pierre Rosenberg is a member of the Académie Française and Honorary President-Director of the Musée du Louvre. Keith Christiansen is Jayne Wrightsman Curator of European Paintings at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Customer Reviews
with Cezanne, the greatest of all French painters?
Pierre Rosenberg makes the bold claim that Poussin is, together with Cezanne, the greatest of all French painters. Andrew Butterfield in NYRB describes the Metropolitan exhibition as "ravishingly beautiful' and speaks of "magical paintings of unforgettable affective power". Jed Perl in the New Republic asserts that this epochal exhibition "took us deeper into the inexhaustibly complex relationship between nature and culture than any other".
This catalogue will give the reader an idea of what all the fuss is about. The first third of the book consists of erudite essays concerning Poussin's landscapes. The balance is a description and discussion of the 113 paintings and drawings that were on show at the Met. This latter task is left to Pierre Rosenberg, a leading authority on French drawings and paintings.
I strongly recommend this quality publication. The many illustrations are excellently reproduced and the accompanying text is unfailingly interesting. It offers some consolation to those that missed this famous exhibition and a serves as a joyous reminder to those who were lucky to have attended.
Beautiful Presentation
Scholarly yet highly readable essays written by a variety of historians accompany a generous amount of high quality color illustrations. The objective of this exhibition catalog seems to be the hope of expanding Poussin's reputation as an erudite history painter to include a real sensitivity to nature and his ability to turn studies from life into highly structured pictorial statements that have as much to say about the narrative as do the figures. Adding to my personal pleasure in this book is the fact that many of the works shown are lesser known, including a number of early works, which encourages a fresh look at Poussin. I recommend this book to anyone who cares about art history, but if you like Poussin, it is a must. The exhibit for which this catalog was written took place in late 2007 into the first half of 2008 and was on view in two venues.
