Bacchanalca. 1635–36
Nicolas Poussin drew this in about 1635–36. It is now at The Met in New York. More about this work
About this work
Nicolas Poussin drew this in about 1635–36. It is now at The Met in New York.
How it was made
- Chalk
- Natural black, red and white chalks. Used together on toned paper they could give the warmth of flesh with very little effort, and they were favourites for studies from life.
- Pen and ink
- Drawn with a quill or reed pen, often with wash added by brush to model light and shadow.
Nicolas Poussin
French, 1594–1665 · Born in Les Andelys; died in Rome.
Poussin left Normandy for Paris and in 1624 settled in Rome, where he spent almost all his career. After an early public commission for St Peter’s, he worked mainly for private collectors on easel paintings of classical, biblical and mythological subjects, ordered with rigorous clarity and reasoned gesture. A brief, unhappy spell as court painter in Paris in 1640–42 confirmed his preference for Rome. His later landscapes give nature a calm, architectural order, and his example became the touchstone of the French Academy.
Written by Ochre Editions.
Rights and the museum’s record
Public domain. The Met has dedicated this image to the public domain under CC0, so anyone may copy, adapt and use it, for any purpose, without asking. Our prints and files are reproductions made from the museum’s image; the museum doesn’t endorse them.
- Object number
- 1998.225
- Credit
- Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Type
- Drawings
- Department
- Drawings and Prints
- Licence
- CC0 1.0 Universal
- Museum record
- See it on the museum’s site
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More by Nicolas Poussin
All their works
Close in colour
