The Role of Nicolas Poussin in the Establishment of French Classicism as Seen from His Involvement in Richelieu's Arts Policy

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Although French painter Nicolas Poussin is recognized as a representative figure in 17th-century French classicism, he actually lived and based his activities in Rome, and it is there that he realized his artistic vision. Given these facts, room remains for further study with regard to the capacity in which Poussin played a direct role in French artistic trends at the time of the establishment of classical art in France. This study considers the possibility that the painter was actively involved in the arts policies carried out by the First Minister of Louis XIII, Cardinal Richelieu and was therefore in a position to govern the direction of French art, taking the following three aspects of Poussin's activities into consideration: the selection of Antiquity as a model to transplant to France and the production of copies; his decoration of the Grande Galerie of the Louvre on the model of a classicist ceiling painting; and his production of tableaux aimed at connoisseurs of arts in Paris.