Blind Orion Searching for the Rising Sun1658
The blind giant Orion strides through a vast landscape towards the rising sun, which according to myth will restore his sight, guided by Cedalion, who stands on his shoulders, while Vulcan points the way from below and the goddess Diana watches from a cloud. More about this work
About this work
The blind giant Orion strides through a vast landscape towards the rising sun, which according to myth will restore his sight, guided by Cedalion, who stands on his shoulders, while Vulcan points the way from below and the goddess Diana watches from a cloud. Poussin painted it in 1658, late in his life, drawing on an ancient description of a painting and on contemporary interpretations of the myth as an allegory of nature, in which Orion stands for the clouds drawn up by the sun. Its mysterious grandeur has fascinated artists and writers ever since.
Written by Ochre Editions.
How it was made
- Oil paint
- Pigment ground in a drying oil, usually linseed. It dries slowly, so painters could blend on the canvas, build up thin translucent glazes, and rework a picture over weeks. Canvas replaced wooden panels in the 1500s because it is lighter and can be rolled.
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
- 24.45.1
- Credit
- Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Type
- Paintings
- Department
- European Paintings
- Licence
- CC0 1.0 Universal
- Museum record
- See it on the museum’s site
