| The Death of Germanicus | |
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| French: La Mort de Germanicus | |
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| Artist | Nicolas Poussin |
| Year | 1627 |
| Medium | oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 147,96 cm× 198,12 cm(5,825 in× 7,800 in) |
| Location | Minneapolis Institute of Art |
The Death of Germanicus is a painting made in 1627 by Nicolas Poussin for Francesco Barberini. It is kept at the Minneapolis Institute of Art.
The painting was commissioned by Cardinal Francesco Barberini (1597–1679), nephew of Pope Urban VIII and legate in France. The order was probably placed in October 1626, returning from a diplomatic visit to Spain. He called on Nicolas Poussin, then a young painter who had recently settled in Rome since 1624, whom he may have known thanks to the poet Giambattista Marino, perhaps through the intermediary of the banker and patron Marcello Sacchetti. Barberini had already commissioned a Capture of Jerusalem (Israel Museum) from Poussin, painted around 1625-1626 and given as a gift to Cardinal Richelieu. The painting was delivered on January 21, 1628, and a receipt signed by the painter's hand indicates that he obtained the sum of 60 crowns for this work. The painting very quickly obtained a great echo because from the following February, Poussin was chosen to paint an altarpiece in Saint Peter's Basilica, The Martyrdom of Saint Erasmus. [1]
The painting is given by Francesco to his nephew Maffeo Barberini (1631–1685), prince of Palestrina. It then remained in the collections of the Barberini Family in Rome and Florence until 1958. That year, it was acquired by the Minneapolis Institute of Art with the support of the William Hood Dunwoody Fund.
Poussin is probably the first painter to examine this subject. This episode in the history of ancient Rome is taken from the Annals of Tacitus. It describes the military successes of the Roman general Germanicus, elder brother of Claudius, in the service of the Emperor Tiberius, especially against the Germans, which earned him his nickname. He was sent to fight in Syria, but there was opposition from Governor Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso. He died suddenly on the spot, in Antioch, accusing Piso of having poisoned him on the orders of Tiberius. He made his wife Agrippina the Elder and the rest of his family swear to avenge his death, enjoying great popularity among the Roman people. Poussin undoubtedly learned of Tacitus' text through an Italian translation, which was numerous at the time in Rome. [2]
The general composition of the painting could have been borrowed from the Death of Meleager, represented on several ancient Roman sarcophagi present in Rome at the time of Poussin. A copy is kept in the Vatican Museums, another in the Capitoline Museums and yet another, currently in Wilton House but present in Rome at the beginning of the 17th century. The figure of Agrippina recalls the personifications of vanquished nations in Roman representations, such as vanquished Judea (judea capta) [3]
In addition to ancient influences, he also uses motifs present in the painting of his time or slightly earlier: the soldier represented on the far left is a revival of the one represented on the extreme right of the Crusaders in front of Jerusalem by Ambroise Dubois (castle de Fontainebleau). It also uses the curtain from The Last Supper by Frans Pourbus the Younger (Musée du Louvre). Poussin's painting also seems to be inspired by The Death of Constantine, taken from a series of tapestries on the Life of Constantine from cartoons by Peter Paul Rubens, offered in 1625 by Louis XIII to Francesco Barberini. [4]
Two drawings taking up the theme of the painting are attributed to Poussin. One is kept in the British Museum. [5] Although very damaged, it already presents the main lines of the painting with a few variations: the soldier in the center does not extend his hand to the sky but holds the hand of Germanicus, thus remaining closer to the text of Tacitus. At the top left, two figures are shown climbing up a staircase, which are not included in the painting. The second drawing, kept at the Musée Condé in Chantilly, has many variations compared to the Minneapolis painting: the number of characters is different. According to the style of the drawing, Pierre Rosenberg and Louis Antoine Prat put forward the hypothesis that it is not a preparatory drawing but a later one, produced around 1630–1632 with a view to the development of a second painting on the same theme but probably never executed. [6] [7]
From the time of Poussin, the painting became famous in artistic circles and the painting was copied and commented on many times. However, it was not until the middle of the 18th century that the theme of Germanicus' death was taken up in the painting, but each time inspired by Poussin. He is thus represented by Piat Sauvage in 1774 and by Heinrich Friedrich Füger in 1789. [8] If the subject is not taken up much by the artists, many are those who insert in their works allusions to Poussin's painting from this period. This is the case of Jean-Baptiste Greuze in his Septimius Severus and Caracalla in 1769 or, in a more subtle way, of Jacques-Louis David's Oath of the Horatii in 1785 who declares about him: "If it is to Corneille that I owe my subject, it is to Poussin that I owe my painting ”. François Marius Granet in his Death of Poussin (Granet Museum), assimilates the painter to the Roman general. Finally, he still inspired Eugène Delacroix in The Last Words of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius in 1844 (Musée des beaux-arts de Lyon). [9]
(Vipsania) Agrippina the Elder was a prominent member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. She was the daughter of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and Augustus' daughter, Julia the Elder. Her brothers Lucius and Gaius Caesar were the adoptive sons of Augustus, and were his heirs until their deaths in AD 2 and 4, respectively. Following their deaths, her second cousin Germanicus was made the adoptive son of Tiberius, Augustus' stepson, as part of the succession scheme in the adoptions of AD 4. As a result of the adoption, Agrippina was wed to Germanicus in order to bring him closer to the Julian family.
Julia Agrippina, also referred to as Agrippina the Younger, was Roman empress from 49 to 54 AD, the fourth wife and niece of Emperor Claudius, and the mother of Nero.
Germanicus Julius Caesar was an ancient Roman general and politician most famously known for his campaigns in Germania. The son of Nero Claudius Drusus and Antonia the Younger, Germanicus was born into an influential branch of the patrician gens Claudia. The agnomen Germanicus was added to his full name in 9 BC when it was posthumously awarded to his father in honor of his victories in Germania. In AD 4 he was adopted by his paternal uncle Tiberius, who succeeded Augustus as Roman emperor a decade later. As a result, Germanicus became an official member of the gens Julia, another prominent family, to which he was related on his mother's side. His connection to the Julii Caesares was further consolidated through a marriage between him and Agrippina the Elder, a granddaughter of Augustus. He was also the father of Caligula, the maternal grandfather of Nero, and the older brother of Claudius.
The 10s decade ran from January 1, AD 10, to December 31, AD 19.
Nicolas Poussin was the leading painter of the classical French Baroque style, although he spent most of his working life in Rome. Most of his works were on religious and mythological subjects painted for a small group of Italian and French collectors. He returned to Paris for a brief period to serve as First Painter to the King under Louis XIII and Cardinal Richelieu, but soon returned to Rome and resumed his more traditional themes. In his later years he gave growing prominence to the landscape in his paintings. His work is characterized by clarity, logic, and order, and favors line over color. Until the 20th century he remained a major inspiration for such classically-oriented artists as Jacques-Louis David, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres and Paul Cézanne.
Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso, was a Roman statesman during the reigns of Augustus and Tiberius. He served as consul in 7 BC, after which he was appointed governor of Hispania and consul of Africa. Piso is best known for being accused of poisoning and killing Germanicus, the heir of emperor Tiberius.
Pietro da Cortona was an Italian Baroque painter and architect. Along with his contemporaries and rivals Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Francesco Borromini, he was one of the key figures in the emergence of Roman Baroque architecture. He was also an important designer of interior decorations.
Drusus Julius Caesar was the son of Emperor Tiberius, and heir to the Roman Empire following the death of his adoptive brother Germanicus in AD 19.
Drusus Caesar was the adopted grandson and heir of the Roman emperor Tiberius, alongside his brother Nero. Born into the prominent Julio-Claudian dynasty, Drusus was the son of Tiberius' general and heir, Germanicus. After the deaths of his father and of Tiberius' son, Drusus the Younger, Drusus and his brother Nero Caesar were adopted together by Tiberius in September AD 23. As a result of being heirs of the emperor, he and his brother enjoyed accelerated political careers.
Nero Julius Caesar was the adopted grandson and heir of the Roman Emperor Tiberius, alongside his brother Drusus. Born into the prominent Julio-Claudian dynasty, Nero was the son of Tiberius' general and heir, Germanicus. After the deaths of his father and of Tiberius' son, Drusus the Younger, Nero and his brother Drusus were adopted together by Tiberius in September AD 23. As a result of being heirs of the emperor, he and his brother enjoyed accelerated political careers.
Gaspard Dughet, also known as Gaspard Poussin, was a French painter born in Rome.
François Marius Granet was a French painter.
Andrea Sacchi was an Italian painter of High Baroque Classicism, active in Rome. A generation of artists who shared his style of art include the painters Nicolas Poussin and Giovanni Battista Passeri, the sculptors Alessandro Algardi and François Duquesnoy, and the contemporary biographer Giovanni Bellori.
Francesco Barberini was an Italian Catholic Cardinal. The nephew of Pope Urban VIII, he benefited immensely from the nepotism practiced by his uncle. He was given various roles within the Vatican administration but his personal cultural interests, particularly in literature and the arts, meant that he became a highly significant patron. His secretary was the antiquarian Cassiano dal Pozzo who was also a discerning patron of the arts. Francesco was the elder brother of Cardinal Antonio Barberini and Taddeo Barberini who became Prince of Palestrina.
Cassiano dal Pozzo was an Italian scholar and patron of arts. The secretary of Cardinal Francesco Barberini, he was an antiquary in the classicizing circle of Rome, and a long-term friend and patron of Nicolas Poussin, whom he supported from his earliest arrival in Rome: Poussin in a letter declared that he was "a disciple of the house and the museum of cavaliere dal Pozzo." A doctor with interests in the proto-science of alchemy, a correspondent of major figures like Galileo, a collector of books and master drawings, dal Pozzo was a node in the network of European scientific figures.
Jean-François Pierre Peyron was a French Neoclassical painter, printmaker, and art collector.
Munatia Plancina was a Roman noblewoman who lived during the reigns of Augustus and Tiberius. She was the wife of the governor of Syria, Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso. The couple was accused of poisoning Germanicus, the nephew and adopted son of the Emperor Tiberius. At first, Munatia Plancina was acquitted, but when the trial was renewed she committed suicide.
The Martyrdom of Saint Erasmus is an altarpiece, painted by Nicolas Poussin in 1628–1629, originally displayed in St. Peter's Basilica, Rome.
Agrippina Landing at Brundisium with the Ashes of Germanicus is a 1768 painting by Anglo-American artist Benjamin West, depicting widow Agrippina the Elder arriving at Brundisium with the ashes of her husband Germanicus to perform the last rites. The likeness of Agrippina and her children are based on the frieze of the Ara Pacis Augustae in which the family is depicted. The temples in the background are inspired by those from the Ruins of the Emperor Diocletian's Palace at Spalato (1764) by Robert Adam.
The Battle between the Israelites and the Amorites, Joshua's Battle Against the Amorites or Joshua's Victory over the Amorites is a c. 1625 oil-on-canvas painting by the French artist Nicolas Poussin, now in the Pushkin Museum, in Moscow.
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