Party Pictures: Poussin and Watteau
Music and dance: two French fantasies Nicolas Poussin and Antoine Watteau at the Getty by Bondo Wyszpolski Let’s do this chronologically, with Nicolas Poussin (1594-1665) the subject of “Poussin and the Dance,” just opening, and on view through May 8, at the Getty Center. To my surprise, I’ve read the entire catalog by Emily A. Beeny and Francesca Whitlum-Cooper. Why was I surprised? Because I’m not a card-carrying fan of Poussin, who painted in the Classical tradition, and at first the only good thing I could praise him for was his splendid use of the color blue. If you’re going to write about art, however, you’ve got to do so with open eyes and an open mind. So I plowed ahead, and in the process learned a thing or two. I’m still not a fan, but that’s okay; you don’t have to like an artist to see the value of their work. “Poussin and the Dance” is devoted to the decade-plus that Poussin, who was born in Normandy, France, spent in Rome painting groups of dancers, mostly in pagan settings, between 1624 and 1637. After that he went on to less frivolous subject matter. The authors of the catalog admit straight out that Poussin hasn’t exactly been perceived as a lively, enticing, or…
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