Poussin and his blasted riddles
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Nicolas Poussin (1594-1665) isn’t the kind of painter who would normally grab my attention – too bucolic and lah-di-da for my taste – but intriguing things do keep popping up in his work, not least the claim that “The Shepherds of Arcadia” answers the riddle of the Holy Grail.
Like millions of others, I came across this ultimately enervating contention in “The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail”. Co-author Henry Lincoln followed that up with “The Holy Place”, which I think Ron Howard and Tom Hanks are going to make into a movie. Poussin was rumoured to be a Grand Master of the Knights Templar. Even the word “rumour” doesn’t have as much weight as it used to, does it?
Now I’ve found out (probably after millions of others) that Poussin’s “Landscape with a Man Killed by a Snake” has quite a story behind it too. The title’s pretty darned good on its own.
And the original title was “The Effects of Fear”, which is even better. See the rest.
