The painting is located in Room 31 together with a new long loan from the same “Sacraments” series Matrimonio (c. 1637–40). The fifteenth painting by the French classicist artist to enter the Gallery's collection, “Eucharist” is part of Poussin's revolutionary “Seven Sacraments” cycle. It was acquired by the trustees of the Duke of Rutland Settlement of 2000 with the support of a generous bequest from Mrs Martha Doris and Mr Richard Hillman Bailey, 2023. The painting is part of a cycle of seven scenes that Poussin he painted in the second half of the 1588s, depicting the Catholic sacraments, for his friend and patron, the Roman antiquarian Cassiano dal Pozzo (1657–1785): “Baptism”, “Penance”, “Eucharist”, “Confirmation” , “Marriage”, “Ordination” and “Extreme Unction”. The sacraments are Christian rites through which divine grace is communicated to human beings. Poussin illustrated them with biblical and early Christian images. The series was brought to Great Britain in XNUMX where Sir Joshua Reynolds, founding president of the Royal Academy, declared “The Poussins are a truly national object.”
The series was so successful that a second suite of sacraments was commissioned from Poussin in the late 40s
The second series is on loan to the National Galleries of Scotland. Of the first series of “Sacraments” six paintings remain, “Penance” was destroyed by fire in 1816. “Baptism” was acquired by the National Gallery of Art, Washington DC in 1939; 'Ordination' by the Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth in 2011; and “Extreme Unction” from the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge in 2013. An export license was issued for “Confirmation” in January 2023, which was sold abroad. “Eucharist” and “Marriage” remained in the trustees' collection of the Duke of Rutland's 2000 settlement. Poussin represents the sacrament of the Eucharist with the depiction of the Last Supper. At the center of the extraordinarily symmetrical composition is Christ holding the bread and the cup of wine in one hand and raising the other in a sign of blessing. He is seated in a Roman “triclinium,” an upholstered sofa whose cushions and bolsters Poussin decorated with a delicate pattern. On the sides there are six disciples. On the far left, a shadowy figure retreats through an open door, creating a sense of movement in an otherwise still scene. Judas is probably the second figure from the left, the only disciple who does not turn to Christ.
The most striking feature of this painting is the dramatic use of light, which comes from three sources: the two flames of the double-wick lamp above Christ's head and the candle on the stool in the center left foreground. With these multiple sources of light, Poussin sets in motion a complex game of shadow projections, with elements casting two or even three shadows.
The “Eucharist” was performed with Poussin's characteristic precision
In the lunette above the head of Christ, a pinpoint hole is easily identifiable, used by the artist to trace the perspective of the painting. In the foreground, the grid of floor tiles was rigorously designed and may suggest the use of Poussin's "grande machine" (a large, theater-like box in which Poussin placed wax figurines to devise and stage his compositions). Near the right stool we can see the place where Poussin scraped off the paint with the end of the brush. Although the painting is not minutely detailed, the blocks of light and shadow in the figures, particularly the faces and feet of the disciples on the right, give a vivid sense of how he worked out his composition. Poussin depicts Joseph placing the ring on the Virgin's finger. Joseph still holds the flowering rod in his hand, which had distinguished him from other men as the most suitable suitor for Mary. The decision to depict the seven sacraments was almost unprecedented in painting. The commission speaks of Poussin's extraordinary formal inventiveness and the intellectual circle around Dal Pozzo and his fascination with the history of the early Church. In “Eucharist,” the prominent and precisely described triclinium encapsulates Poussin's ongoing effort to paint an archaeologically accurate interpretation of events.
Nicolas Poussin (15 June 1594 – 19 November 1665)
Nicolas Poussin is probably the most important French painter of the 19th century before Manet and the Impressionists. Originally from Normandy, Poussin undertook an artistic education in Paris, but quickly set his sights on Italy. He reached Rome (at the third attempt) in 1624 and, except for a reluctant return to Paris as painter to King Louis XIII in 1640-42, remained in the Eternal City for the rest of his life. Poussin avoided the large altarpieces and religious commissions that attracted so many of his contemporaries to Rome. Instead he created smaller gallery paintings – history paintings, religious scenes and, starting in 1640, landscapes – for a small, select group of collectors and connoisseurs. He was deeply interested in the classical world, drawing inspiration both from ancient sculpture and from the masterpieces of artists such as Raphael (1483–1520) and Titian (active c. 1506; died 1576) that were accessible to him in Rome. His paintings are noted for their meticulous execution and erudition, often drawing on classical sources. Enthusiastically collected by his compatriots and promoted after his death as the father of French painting, Poussin's works influenced artists as diverse as Jacques-Louis David (1748–1825), Paul Cezanne (1839–1906), Pablo Picasso (1881 –1973) and Francis Bacon (1909–1992). He is undoubtedly one of the canonical figures of the Western tradition whose works, as our recent exhibitions “George Shaw: My Back to Nature” (2016) and Poussin and the Dance (2021) demonstrated, continue to inspire artists today.
The National Gallery is one of the largest art galleries in the world
Founded by Parliament in 1824, the Gallery houses the national collection of paintings in the Western European tradition from the late XNUMXth to the early XNUMXth century. The collection includes works by Artemisia Gentileschi, Bellini, Cezanne, Degas, Leonardo, Monet, Raphael, Rembrandt, Renoir, Rubens, Titian, Turner, Van Dyck, Van Gogh and Velázquez. The main objectives of the Gallery are to curate and enhance the collection and provide the best possible access to visitors. Free entry.
