| Poussin Paintings 1594 - 1665 France, Baroque |
| The Martyrdom of St Erasmus |
| Oil on canvas, 125.98 x 73.23 inches [320 x 186 cm] |
| Vatican Museums, Vatican |
| Religious Paintings |
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| painting: |
PON006 |
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| size I: |
36x21 inches |
| price: |
470 USD |
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| painting: |
PON006B |
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| size II: |
40x23 inches |
| price: |
515 USD |
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OIL PAINTING : The Martyrdom of St Erasmus |
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As soon as the Germanicus was completed, an even more important commission was received, this time for the Basilica of St Peter's. It was for a large altarpiece depicting the Martyrdom of St Erasmus. The oil painting of poussin was not a success and, with the exception of the Virgin with St James (Louvre, Paris) which was probably painted for a church in Valenciennes, Poussin painted only one more large altarpiece for a prominent position. The Erasmus is nevertheless important in several ways: it shows Poussin's temporary preoccupation with the Caravaggesque idiom and also his weaknesses as a composer of large altarpieces, demonstrating that he was temperamentally unsuited to the painting of a single painting on a grand scale. Almost all the greatest paintings of Poussin's maturity form part of a pair or a series: the first set of Sacraments, the Seasons, and the Crossing of the Red Sea paired with the Adoration of the Golden Calf.
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