Bacchanal c. 1635 - 1636

Here is a drawing by Nicolas Poussin entitled ‘Bacchanal’. Made with brown wash, the drawing is a complex orchestration of figures in a state of abandon. Poussin employs a dynamic composition using a limited palette of earth tones. Notice how the layering of figures creates a dense, almost impenetrable space. The eye struggles to find a clear focal point. There is instead a visual tension between the figures in the foreground, those interwoven in the center, and the goat-like figure who anchors the bacchanal. This dense arrangement is not accidental. It speaks to Poussin’s broader interest in the structuring of chaos. Here, Bacchanal is not merely a scene of revelry, but a meditation on the limits of order. The drawing challenges us to find structure within the seemingly disordered. We must question if fixed meanings can even exist within such visual complexity.