摘要
The Fort Worth （Texas） exhibition/publication Poussin： The Early Years in Rome： The Origins of French Classicism （1988） proved to be a seminal event in Poussin scholarship. Over 200 works were put on display at the Kimbell Art Museum that revealed the formative years in the French painter＇s works. The drawings and paintings confirmed Poussin as the leading classicist in 17th century French art and expanded our appreciation of the flexibility of the artist to illustrate mythological narratives. Previous positions on the artist such as Anthony Blunt＇s, who viewed the painter as a strict classicist without a major interest in color, are now reevaluated after the Fort Worth show. The influence of the Venetian school, especially the work of Titian, emerged stronger into Poussin＇s oeuvre. It was under the classicist umbrella that the romantic verse of Ovid and the sensual color of Titian became forged into the pictures of Roman mythology. The leading source of inspiration for this work would be Ovid＇s Metamorphoses where figures change into flowers made timeless by the painter＇s brush. Just as the poet varied the structure of his narrative presentation, so too did the painter expand his approach to depicting scenes of change in a variety of formats. A key work for Poussin in these stories of change would be the Kingdom of Flora （1631） where Ovidian tales are posed as an eternal spring where the goddess distributes the flowers of the collective narrative in an olive green chitin. This paper will contribute to the position of viewing Poussin＇s art under a wider vision of classicism where flexible narrative design and sensuous color fit the mission to make art noble and timeless.
