Cinerary Urn, after the Antique
17th–19th century
Medium
Pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash, over black chalk
Dimensions
11 1/4 x 8 3/4 in. (28.6 x 22.2 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Cornelius Vanderbilt, 1880
Accession Number
80.3.583
Tags
Art Historical Context
Nicolas Poussin, the preeminent French artist of the 17th century and a master of classical Baroque style, created this meticulous drawing titled *Cinerary Urn, after the Antique*. Dating to the 17th–19th century, it captures the intricate details of an ancient Roman funerary urn, reflecting Poussin's deep fascination with Greco-Roman antiquity. As a scholar-artist in Rome, Poussin frequently studied and copied classical artifacts to inform his paintings, blending archaeological precision with idealized beauty. This work exemplifies his role in the Renaissance revival of ancient forms, bridgin...
About the Artist
Nicolas Poussin · 1594–1665
Nicolas Poussin, born in June 1594 near Les Andelys in Normandy, emerged from a family of local distinction whose modest means and parental opposition could not deter his artistic calling. He received his initial training under the itinerant painter Quentin Varin in Rouen around 1611–12, absorbing lessons in storytelling, precise facial expressions, and rich colors, though without a formal long-te...