Nicolas Poussin

French Baroque master Nicolas Poussin (1594-1665) founded the Classical tradition in French painting through his rigorously intellectual approach to composition. Born in Normandy, he arrived in Rome in 1624 and spent most of his career there, studying antiquity and Raphael while developing a style that emphasized disegno (design) over color. His work favored clarity, logic, and moral seriousness, earning him the title "painter-philosopher."

Poussin's subjects drew from classical mythology, ancient history, and the Bible. The Death of Germanicus (1627) established the heroic deathbed scene that influenced countless later paintings. Though Louis XIII summoned him to Paris in 1640 as First Painter, Poussin found court commissions incompatible with his independent method and returned permanently to Rome in 1642. His disciplined approach influenced Jacques-Louis David, Ingres, and even Cézanne. Today the Louvre holds the largest collection of his paintings, while significant works hang at the National Gallery in London, the Metropolitan Museum, and the Prado.