Nicolas Poussin, French, 1594-1665
Title: Nymph and Satyr
Date: c.1626
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions:
73 x 59 cm
Credit Line: Bequeathed, Sir Hugh Lane, 1918
Object Number: NGI.816
ProvenancePossibly, Christie's, London, 7 February 1771, Robert Strange sale, lot 20; Stephenson; Collection of the Duke of Sutherland, c.1836; Christie's, London, 11 June 1913, Duke of Sutherland sale, lot 34 or 35; Sir Hugh Lane; bequeathed, Sir Hugh Lane, 1918
Exhibition HistoryLe Classicisme Francais, masterpieces of 17th century painting, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 30 April - 9 June 1985
From Titian to Delacroix: Masterpieces from the National Gallery of Ireland, Yokohama Sogo Museum of Art, 25 August - 17 October 1993; Chiba Sogo Museum of Art, 10 November - 20 December 1993; Prefectural Museum of Art, Yamaguchi, 5 January - 20 February 1994; Kobe City Museum, 25 February - 10 April 1994; Isetan Museum of Art, 14 April - 24 May 1994
European Masterpieces from the National Gallery of Ireland, National Gallery, Canberra, 25 June - 3 October 1994; Art Gallery of New South Wales, 21 October 1994 - 15 January 1995
From Titian to Delacroix: Masterpieces from the National Gallery of Ireland, Yokohama Sogo Museum of Art, 25 August - 17 October 1993; Chiba Sogo Museum of Art, 10 November - 20 December 1993; Prefectural Museum of Art, Yamaguchi, 5 January - 20 February 1994; Kobe City Museum, 25 February - 10 April 1994; Isetan Museum of Art, 14 April - 24 May 1994
European Masterpieces from the National Gallery of Ireland, National Gallery, Canberra, 25 June - 3 October 1994; Art Gallery of New South Wales, 21 October 1994 - 15 January 1995
Label TextPoussin first visited Rome in 1624. He became acquainted with the influential antiquarian and art collector Cassiano Dal Pozzo, and developed a life-long interest in classical art and literature. This early work depicts a satyr (a mythological creature; half-man, half-goat). He drinks from a pitcher assisted by a putto. His shepherd's crook and syrinx hang on a tree in the background. A nymph watches by the water’s edge. Poussin made a number of versions of this Arcadian scene for wealthy patrons in Rome.