Nicolas Poussin c. 19th century

Editor: This is Jean Louis Potrelle's "Nicolas Poussin," housed here at Harvard. It feels like a very idealized representation of the artist. What sociopolitical messages do you think Potrelle was trying to convey? Curator: It’s intriguing to consider Potrelle's portrait as a strategic act of myth-making. How does this image contribute to the canonization of Poussin, and what power dynamics are at play when artists are elevated in this way? Editor: That's a great point. It definitely encourages us to think about the legacy and how artists are historically represented. Curator: Exactly. Thinking about the artist as an author is one thing, but understanding the social implications of their work makes the image so much more complex and meaningful.