Antique Master Print-VENUS-ADONIS-LOVERS-Pool-Poussin-1696-1727

“Landscape with Venus and Adonis.” Adonis looks impatiently at Venus. He has his spear in his hand and wants to go hunting. Above them two doves as a symbol of the love between them. Venus scratched Amor’s arrow and fell in love with Adonis. In the margin a two-line caption in Dutch.

Made by Matthijs Pool after Nicolas Poussin.

Medium: Etching and engraving on hand laid (verge) paper. Watermark: Pro Patria (Dutch garden).

Sheet size: 34.9 x 31.8 cm (13.74 x 12.52 inch). Image size: 29.8 x 27.8 cm. (11.73 x 10.94 inch).

Condition: good, given age. General age-related toning and/or occasional minor defects from handling. Please study scan carefully.

VENUS-ADONIS-LOVERS | PCO-E17-39

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Source: unknown, to be determined.

Biography engraver: Mattys Pool (1670-1732) worked as a printmaker/publisher in Amsterdam. He travelled to France.

Biography artist: Nicolas Poussin (1594 – 1665) was a French painter who was a 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 Cezanne.