1594-1665. French painter, active chiefly in
Rome; court painter to Louis XIII 1640-43. He
was one of France's foremost landscape
painters in the 17th century. He painted
mythological and literary scenes in a
strongly classical style: for example, Rape
of the Sabine Women about 1636-37
(Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York).
Poussin went to Rome 1624 and studied Roman
sculpture in the studio of Domenichino. His
style reflects painstaking preparation: he
made small wax models of the figures in his
paintings, experimenting with different
compositions and lighting. Colour was
subordinate to line.