\paperw19995 \margr0\margl0 \plain \fs20 \f1 French painter.\par
Poussin was trained in Paris, where he was able to study Italian painting from the examples in the roya
l collections, the Mannerists of the School of Fontainebleau, and the engravings of Raphael and Giulio Romano. He then decided to visit Italy and after a stay in Venice arrived in Rome in 1624, where he was to stay for the rest of his life. PoussinÆs ear
ly work in Italy shows the influence of Titian. In particular Titian's \i Bacchanalia\i0 inspired Poussin to paint several pictures of mythological subjects characterized by a range of pale and luminous colors. Examples of this include the \i Triumph of
Flora\i0 , \i Inspiration of the Poet\i0 , \i Bacchanal with Lute Player\i0 (Paris, MusΘe du Louvre), and \i Death of Germanicus\i0 (Minneapolis, Institute of Arts). The artist showed a growing interest in and nostalgia for the ancient world, as seen
in subjects drawn from history or from the Graeco-Roman repertoire depicted in compositions of great formal balance, rigor, and necessity (\i Rape of the Sabines\i0 , 1637, New York, Metropolitan Museum and the first set of the \i Seven Sacraments\i0 , 1
636-40). Another central theme of PoussinÆs work is the landscape. Following in the footsteps of Annibale Carracci, Poussin too interpreted the landscape in terms of a classical ideal of harmony and perfection (\i Landscape with the Funeral of Phocion
\i0 , 1648, Oakley Park, Shropshire, Earl of Plymouth Collection and \i Four Seasons\i0 , from 1660, Paris, Louvre).
