Poussin, Nicolas

French painter. Active chiefly in Rome, he was the foremost exponent of 17th-century baroque classicism. He painted several major religious works, but is best known for his mythological and literary scenes executed in an austere classical style, for example, Et in Arcadia Ego (1638–39; Louvre, Paris). His style had a profound effect on the development of French art.

Poussin spent most of his working life in Rome, though he was briefly court painter to Louis XIII of France 1640–43. Despite his absence, he managed to win a high reputation in France, his style eventually becoming the official style of the French Academy under Lebrun. The restrained classicism of this style, which in part reflects a contemporary interest in Stoic philosophy, has parallels in the classical theatre of Corneille and Racine.

Among his major works are The Inspiration of the Poet 1636 (Louvre, Paris); Bacchanalian Festival, painted for Richelieu before 1641 (National Gallery, London); The Golden Calf, before 1634 (National Gallery, London); and The Entombment (National Gallery of Ireland). A superb self-portrait at the age of 56 is in the Louvre.