Czére Andrea szerk.: A Szépművészeti Múzeum közleményei 104. (Budapest, 2006)

ANDREA GZÉRE: Nicolas Poussin's Allegory in the Collection of Drawings in Budapest

NICOLAS POUSSIN. ALLEGORY OF THE FUTILITY OF HUMAN LIFE. BUDAPEST. MUSEUM OE FI N F ARTS direct illustrations for Marino's poetry; nevertheless, concrete correlation could not be established between the poems and the drawings. Their provenance is well known, since they can be traced back to the collection of Cardinal Camillo Massimi with w

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as in direct relation,

7 but they do not constitute a homogeneous series. Neither their subject matter, nor scale, nor drawing style, nor even their spatial depiction or mode of composition would indicate an execution of the same period for all the Massimi sheets. From the viewpoint of its wide horizontal format and technique

—pen and brown ink with grey wash

—as well as the drawing style

—the fine contours and graded wash

—the Budapest drawing stands closest to those portraying the birth of Adonis, and the death (?) of Camilla, which are of a higher quality than the others.

8 But it is even more mature than those, more complex, and less stiffly frieze-like, its composition more elaborated, and

—which is not at all neutral in the case of Poussin

—its subject is not traditional. The formulation of its message, similarly to numerous mature works of the artist, is completely unique, not following the traditional iconography; thus, it was difficult to interpret exactly. The drawing that was at first identified as a Bacchanalia'' was later thought to show the choice between virtue and vice,

10 but in our opinion, it rather belongs among the depictions of Vanitas, signifying the futility of life.