Paysage avec deux nymphes et un serpent 

Nicolas Poussin painted this scene, *Landscape with Two Nymphs and a Snake*, in Rome, where he was working in the 1600s. It is an idealized vision of nature based on classical sources. In his day, there was heated debate in the French Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture about what good painting should be. On one side, the ‘Poussinistes’ believed that drawing was the most important thing, and should be the foundation of all painting. They valued order, reason and clarity above all. On the other side, the ‘Rubenistes’ argued that colour was more important, and that painting should appeal to the senses and emotions. Poussin’s own art was a key point of reference for the Poussinistes. We might now wonder whether the landscape genre, especially one so stylized, could ever be politically progressive. To better understand paintings like this, we can consult the writings of art theorists in the period, as well as other visual depictions of the landscape through prints and drawings. This helps us to better understand the social and intellectual milieu in which the artist was working.