The Death of Germanicus by Nicholas Poussin

This painting depicts a group of Roman soldiers in a wide range of emotions regarding the unjust death of their heroic captain. On the far left a soldier turns his muscular back toward the viewer and raises his hand to his face as though hiding his despair. With this contrast of the outward physical strength and the real human emotion, the realism of the surface of the flesh makes the viewer more aware of what is happening, introspectively to the character.  Next to him another soldier rests his head in his palm and closes his eye in a desolate manner to suggest his reflection of the moment.

 The group of soldiers is embodied by the two foremost soldiers: one is wearing a vibrant red cloak and shimmering helmet, his contrapposto pose suggests he has just arrived, while the other key soldier stands solid, resembling a marble statue. He is wearing golden armor and stands closest to Germanicus with his hand raised heavenward to display his level of allegiance. Poussin draws the viewer’s eye to the crisp white forms of Germanicus’s cloak. The essential moral link in the painting is the V shape created by angles of the statuesque soldier together with the form of the grieving wife Agrippina and son, the future Emperor Caligula. In this void lies the dying Germanicus, who is honored for his virtue and piety by the broad-shouldered soldiers and a loving family alike.

            Germanicus is a testimony to Poussin’s study of ancient Roman history and archaeology.  The work is reminiscent of a Roman frieze: the horizontal lines, the row of figures and the blue drapery above the bed bring order of movement close to the viewer and create intimacy in the scene. Fortunately Poussin moves past the relief-like qualities in his creation of depth in the space. The backgrond is complete with pilasters, roundels, keystones and spacious archways, allowing the architecture to echo the narrative in the scene. Poussin’s display of a controlled freedom of the brush, intricate detail, diverse use of bold forms and figures helps to portray a wide variety of moral meaning. This work shows the wide range of emotion and thematic detail, including comradeship and a dignified manner in which all should meet and reverence life and death, which Poussin was able to portray in his paintings.