Poussin is something of an acquired taste–an artist’s artist. Cezanne adored him, characterizing his own art as ‘making Impressionism something solid, like Poussin.’
Poussin has a very great artistic imagination and easily holds his own with other gifted designers, such as Rubens and David. In addition, and almost unique in the history of art, he has a deep love for nature and a tremendous eye for it, which enables him to integrate his figures seamlessly into wonderfully realized natural settings. The combination of lively design and eye for nature explains how both the Classicists and Impressionists looked to him for inspiration.
Today, many of Poussin’s paintings are in bad shape, which presents a serious roadblock to those attempting to engage the artist. The Cleveland Museum of Art has an example of just how bad the problem is. Many areas in The Return of the Holy Family to Nazareth have faded beyond recognition, such as area 1 in the accompanying illustration. The lower-left area is so faded that conservators haven’t attempted to restore it, which might not be a bad thing. The figure of Mary, area 2, is so poorly restored that it looks garish and wholly out of place. The dark shadowing has obliterated all signs of modeling seen in the other figures. Obviously, the figure of Mary is not by Poussin.
The other figures, such as the one in area 3, show the fading that is typical in many of the artist’s paintings. Although faded, the restored has left it alone and one can get a sense of the artist’s intent.
Overall the painting is gray and dull: the lights are dimmed and the darks faded, except for the plastered-on and garish Mary. Sadly, this is seen all too often in Poussin’s paintings, even in those not mangled by restorers. Poussin either impulsively painted over passages that were not properly dry or his materials were faulty. Given the artist’s careful and methodical approach, I am sure the problem results from faulty material. Even today it’s not unusual–indeed, it’s normal–for art materials to be falsely or misleadingly labeled.
Even with all its problems,The Return of the Holy Family to Nazareth is a wonderful painting. The design is dynamic; its ’empty’ middle contravenes several rules-of-thumb for classical design and demonstrates how inventive and self-assured the artist is.