Nicolas Poussin - Landscape with Saint John on Patmos

While navigating the maze of galleries that make up the European painting and sculpture portion of The Art Institute of Chicago, viewers will become immersed in a vast collection of biblical scenes and portraiture of royal figures from centuries of European talent. One painting that is sure to stand out is “Landscape with Saint John on Patmos” by seventeenth century French painter Nicolas Poussin. This was a very influential painting for its time as it is one of the first paintings in the history of art that features landscape with the intent of depicting its natural beauty. The painting’s overall content features ruins of roman architecture in a beautiful landscape of green trees and lush rolling hills set on the banks of a clear blue river. Saint John’s image is depicted in the foreground in a relaxed position as he peacefully studies from a scroll juxtaposed alongside a dark brown bird that appears to be his companion. The painting is peaceful and serene and contains no suggestion of movement or conflict within either the landscape or Saint John’s figure. Its strong influence on the art world could be credited to that very simplicity and serenity. It is easy for the common viewer to relate with, as it does not incorporate any of the heavy religious symbolism or deep coding common to that time period. Overall, it is the beginning of a new era in art which does not require an art scholar to understand, it is simply painted as an appreciation of the beauty of the natural world.