Miranda Carter – Payot, 2006 Sir Anthony Blunt (1907-1983), one of the greatest art historians of the 20th century, an inspector for the queen’s paintings and an expert on Poussin and Italian Baroque, was a spy working for Moscow. Under suspicion from the English since 1951, he discreetly confessed in 1964 in exchange for immunity. … Continue reading Gentleman spy: The double life of Anthony Blunt
Considered one of the most eminent historians of British art, knighted in 1956, Professor Blunt, also known for having been a double agent for the Soviet Union during the Cold War, is a leading expert on Poussin, and he has devoted many books to him. He is the Executive Commissioner of the Louvre Museum and … Continue reading Anthony Frederick BLUNT (1907-1983)
The auction house has just announced the offering of an unusual -and whose authorship seems to be questioned- painting of Poussin, The Elephant or Hannibal crossing the Alps (1625-1626), at its Old Master & British Paintings Auction on July 2d. The painting (100 x 133 cm), estimated between £3 and £5 million, shows Hannibal, the legendary Carthaginian general, directing … Continue reading An Elephant on sale at Christie’s London on July
The Louvre Museum, Richelieu wing, 2nd floor, room 14 Oil on canvas, 118 x 197 cm, painted in 1648 for Pointel, a merchant from Paris whose collection primarily comprised paintings by Poussin. The canvas later became part of the collection of the Duke of Richelieu and was acquired by Louis XIV in 1665. There are … Continue reading Eliezer and Rebecca – painted for Pointel (1648)
Collective work – Published by Edition des Musées Nationaux, 1960 Exhibition catalogue (by Anthony Blunt) Dear Director General, I have the honour of sending you the attached samples from the exhibition catalogue which the Painting Department is dedicating this year to one of the less popular of the grand masters, in France at least, Nicolas … Continue reading Nicolas Poussin – Louvre Museum, PARIS 1960
Anthony Blunt – Macula, 2000 A ubiquitous work in Anglo-Saxon countries (9 editions have been published in English); “the Blunt” is the only work that gives a complete history of French art in an easy-to-use format, from the end of the Gothic era to the death of Louis XIV. The presentation of Poussin’s work is … Continue reading Art and architecture in France, 1500-1700
Texts collected and presented by Anthony Blunt – Hermann, Collection Savoir: sur l’art series (Knowledge collection: on the art series), 1989 These letters by the greatest classical French artist, and the accompanying eye-witness accounts from his contemporaries, reassert the painter’s emotion and humanity. They follow his travels between France and Rome; tell the story of … Continue reading Nicolas Poussin – Letters and speeches on art
Anthony Blunt – Hazan Collection 35/37, 1988 This book gives us an insight into Poussin’s workshop: it must have taken patient research, rework and passion to achieve this still, blue-tinted puppet theatre. The combination of fury and austerity, composition influenced by surroundings… The book retraces all of these battles in chronological order.
Claude Gellée is a painter from Lorraine who moved to Rome in 1615 to learn the traditional craft of Lorraine: baking. After arriving in Rome, he was first a cook for painter Agostino Tassi who, when he discovered his gift for painting, decided to teach him the basics. Influenced by the landscapes of Annibale Carracci, … Continue reading Claude Gellée, known as Claude or le Lorrain (circa 1600-1682) – Painter
Sir Denis Mahon, who died in 2011 aged 100, was a great collector and a renown art historian, specialist of 17th century Italian paintings, notably Guido Reni, Caravaggio and Nicolas Poussin. For Michael Kitson, Claude Lorrain specialist, teacher then deputy director of the Courtauld Institute, «Denis Mahon is the greatest art historian-collector of our time, maybe … Continue reading Sir Denis Mahon (1911-2011)
A short biography of Nicolas Poussin : key dates • 1594 : Born near Les Andelys (Normandy, France) • 1624 : Arrives in Rome, 1st significant order for Saint-Pierre. Above all the painter finds his inspiration in poetic subjects > The Inspiration of the Poet • 1630-1640 : 1st period in Rome. Following an illness and a wedding, Poussin abandons the large compositions … Continue reading Biography