A Dance to the Music of Time Nicolas Poussin (1594-1665)
Nicolas Poussin – A Dance to the Music of Time
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Painter: Nicolas Poussin
Location: Wallace Collection, London.
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The French painter Poussin frequently turned to themes of mythology. An outstanding work with the philosophical title Dance to the Music of Time was painted in Rome. The approximate time of creation of the grandiose canvas is 1638. Antique myths formed the basis of the painting by Nicolas Poussin. As the founder of classicism, the artist reflected the new style in this work. Everything in the painting is beautiful, harmonious, and perfect.
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Description of the painting "Dance to the Music of Time" by Nicola Poussin
The French painter Poussin frequently turned to themes of mythology. An outstanding work with the philosophical title Dance to the Music of Time was painted in Rome. The approximate time of creation of the grandiose canvas is 1638. Antique myths formed the basis of the painting by Nicolas Poussin.
As the founder of classicism, the artist reflected the new style in this work. Everything in the painting is beautiful, harmonious, and perfect. The figures of mythical creatures and people are endowed with perfect proportions. The architecture surrounding them is beautiful and exquisite. Nature delights with refinement and natural splendor.
In the compositional center - dancing in a closed circle of 4 figures. The first one symbolizes Poverty - a barefoot young man in dark clothes. On the right, Labor holds his hand, then Rich. The red-haired girl with a sly smile, a symbol of Pleasure, closes the dance circle. Such allegorical whirlwind can be understood as a turning of Fortune’s wheel. Under the influence of fleeting chance and the prevailing circumstances of life, a person receives one of the four named states.
The other figures in the picture are two infants. One sits on the left, playing with soap bubbles. This is another symbolic image that reminds one of the transience of life. On the right, the infant follows the movement of the hourglass, which he holds in his hand. The winged elder Chronos is the embodiment of Time itself. He plays music to which he dances the round dance. The statue with two faces is the god Janus. The young face stares into the future, the second head of the bearded old man looks in the opposite direction - into the past.
The painter has placed a mythical object in the sky - Apollo’s chariot. In front of it flies the goddess Aurora and scatters flowers.
Poussin displayed in the "Dance to the music of time" allegory of human life. The masterpiece is now in the Wallace Collection in London.
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