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Landscape with a Man killed by a Snake

Image credit: The National Gallery, London

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Notes

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A man has been crushed by a snake and lies dead beside a pond: his body is limp and his skin a greenish-grey. We see a man and woman whose gestures and movement show their fear and surprise. The way the landscape is constructed reveals the drama in stages: the running man sees the dead man and the snake, the woman sees only the fleeing man and a fishermen in the distance see only her. Trees are used to frame the action and the zigzag placement of the people in the landscape and the alternating areas of light and shade lead our eye deeper into the distance.

This scene is probably inspired by the notorious snake-infested area of Fondi, south-east of Rome, which Poussin and the painting’s owner, Jean Pointel, may have visited. The subject may be based on an actual event that Poussin heard about or witnessed.

The National Gallery, London

London

Title

Landscape with a Man killed by a Snake

Date

probably 1648

Medium

Oil on canvas

Measurements

H 118.2 x W 197.8 cm

Accession number

NG5763

Acquisition method

Bought, 1947

Work type

Painting

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Normally on display at

The National Gallery, London

Trafalgar Square, London, Greater London WC2N 5DN England

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