Pierre Rosenberg announces the discovery of a new painting by Nicolas Poussin at the Louvre Museum
“I found a new Poussin at the Louvre, a Poussin from Louis XIV collections.” [translated]
The former CEO of the Louvre Museum has just announced, during an interview to The Art tribune, that he has authenticated a painting acquired by Louis XIV and stored at the Louvre, as a genuine work of Poussin.
The painting, Mars and Venus, an allegory of the triumph of love over war, takes its subject from Ovide’s Metamorphoses and is one of the 33 works of Poussin bought by Louis XIV in 1671. The Louvre Museum owns a drawing on the subject and another painting can be seen at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.
The work needs a restoration but should be visible next year, probably for the Louvre exhibition planned in 2015 for the anniversary of his death.
More details on this discovery should be available in a forthcoming issue of the Grande Galerie, the Louvre’s magazine.
Further reading:
• The Art Tribune (in French)