Rinaldo and Armida Nicolas Poussin (1594-1665)

Description of the painting "Rinaldo and Armida" by Nicola Poussin

Nicolas Poussin’s name is firmly attached to the concept of "classicism" for a reason. It was this French artist who was the founder, the main representative of the painting of this direction, and all of his paintings are the vivid embodiment of the classics and monumentality of painting.

Each famous painting by Poussin is a work of high art, a historical and monumental masterpiece with the most famous subjects of literature, history and mythology of the West.

Poussin’s composition is notable for its chiseled, rhythm that is brought to perfection and is readable in the work even when looking at the reproductions. The local spots of Poussin’s coloring have not been repeated before and after the artist, so professional and unique is his technique.

It is hard to imagine a large museum that does without paintings by Nicolas Poussin, because he represents one of the "pillars" of world classical painting.

The painting "Rinaldo and Armida" is a subject from Tasso’s Italian poem "Liberated Jerusalem", written at the end of the 16th century. Rinaldo and Armida are a couple in love, whose love became an iconic element of the poem and captured the heart of Poussin, who depicted it on one of his canvases.

The action takes place during one of the Crusades, after which the city of Jerusalem was conquered and the Christian kingdom triumphed. Satan supposedly sent a beautiful girl named Armida, who was supposed to charm the Crusaders and stop them in their tracks. Rinaldo, the hero of the poem, saved his comrades, thus earning the beautiful Armida’s desire for revenge. Of course, in the end, Armida’s hatred develops into love for her enemy, who then leaves her.

Poussin depicted the tragedy and murderous beauty of the love between the two heroes, and with his unsurpassed technique, the painting is considered one of the masterpieces of world art.