Ecstasy of Saint Paul
Artist
Nicolas Poussin
(French, 1594 - 1665)
Date1643
MediumOil on wood
DimensionsFramed: 24 × 19 1/2 × 3 1/8 in. (61 × 49.5 × 7.9 cm)
Image: 16 3/8 x 11 7/8 in. (41.6 x 30.2 cm)
Image: 16 3/8 x 11 7/8 in. (41.6 x 30.2 cm)
ClassificationsPaintings
Credit LineMuseum purchase, 1956
Object numberSN690
In this small painting, Nicolas Poussin was faced with two huge tasks. He had to flatter his major patron as well as compete with the artist he most admired. The patron was Paul Fréart de Chantelou, a connoisseur who commissioned Poussin's major religious cycle, The Seven Sacraments. The artist whom Poussin most admired was the Renaissance master, Raphael, whose Vision of Ezekiel was owned by Chantelou.
According to the New Testament, during an ecstatic vision St. Paul was carried by angels to the Third Heaven. Poussin chose the subject of St. Paul both as a natural New Testament complement to the Hebrew prophet Ezekiel, as well as to honor his patron, Paul.
When the painting was finished, Poussin wrote a letter to Chantelou asking him never to show his painting next to that of Raphael. Instead, he suggested it be used as a cover for "that precious painting."
On View
On view
Nicolas Lancret
