Nicolas Poussin

Timeline

1. 1594–1624Normandy · NormandyBorn in the Normandy countryside, he went early to Paris to study his art, was influenced by patrons such as the Duke of Mantua, and settled in Rome in 1624; apart from brief returns to France, he made Rome his creative center for the rest of his life.
2. 1624–1640Rome · LazioIn Rome he studied ancient sculpture and the works of Raphael and Titian, forming a rigorous compositional and lucidly narrative style. In the 1630s he completed works such as The Arcadian Shepherds and The Death of Etaion, winning the favor of French aristocratic and ecclesiastical collectors.
3. 1640–1642Paris · Île-de-FranceSummoned to Paris by Richelieu to serve as first painter to the king, he found court etiquette burdensome and his working methods ill-suited, and returned to Rome around 1642, thereafter refusing to leave Italy again.
4. 1643–1665Rome · LazioBetween 1640 and the 1660s he completed late masterpieces such as the Four Seasons series and Blindman's Buff, his style growing ever more restrained and contemplative. He died in Rome on November 19, 1665, and was buried near Piazza San Lorenzo.