Chateaubriand's Monument to Poussin

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Monument to Nicholas Poussin, San Lorenzo in Lucina

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On November 19th 1665, the great French painter Nicolas Poussin died in Rome, where he had lived and worked for many years. 

Poussin (1596-1665) is buried in the church of San Lorenzo in Lucina. The monument was erected between 1828 and 1832 by François-René, vicomte de Chateaubriand (1768-1848), the French writer and diplomat.

In translation, the dedication reads: '...Chateaubriand to Nicolas Poussin, for the glory of the arts and the honour of France'. The bust is signed P. Lemoyne and the bas-relief of Poussin's most famous painting, Et in Arcadia Ego, is by Leon Vaudoyer. 

​The epitaph proclaims: PARCE PIIS LACRYMIS VIVIT PUSSINUS IN VRNA/VIVERE QVI DEDERAT NESCIVS IPSE MORI/HIC TAMEN IPSE SILET SI VIS AVDIRE LOQUENTVM/MIRVM EST IN TABVLIS VIVET ET ELOQVITVR. In essence, it states that Poussin is silent now, but if you are prepared to listen, you can hear him speaking through his pictures.

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Et in Arcadia Ego, Bas-relief by Leon Vaudoyer

Et in Arcadia Ego by Nicolas Poussin