One of the most influential artists of the Baroque was Nicolas Poussin. This French artist painted like a Roman. Maybe that was because he spent most of his professional career in Rome. This would-be great artist had humble beginnings. He was born to small time framers in France, not far from the Seine River around Normandy. He was probably going to farm, as his parents had done, but one day Quentin Varin, a regional artist and one of the favorite artists of Maria de'Medici, came into town to paint. This visit to his hometown inspired Poussin to develop his skills as an artist. Due to his low status, having little money, and no idea on how to go about it. It was difficult for him to find a quality teacher as he set off to travel in search of artistic knowledge. For the learner, this was a time of transition in the art world. The apprentice system was outdated, but the academic road had little merit. He had returned home embarrassed by the experience. His passion for art, however, was too strong. He set out a second time for Paris and was soon compelled to travel on to Rome, Italy.

In Rome, more than any other artist of the Baroque, Poussin studied the Renaissance. He was deeply influenced by his idol Raphael Sanzio, as well as Titian and the classical ideas that filled Rome as a whole. Poussin would remain in Rome from 1624 until 1640. While in Rome, Poussin’s created many works. One of which was Rebekah Quenching the Thirst of Eliezer at the Well. This work was commissioned by Cassiano dal Pozzo. The work is based on subject matter that comes from the Bible. Abraham sent his old and faithful servant, Eliezer of Damascus, on a mission to find his son Isaac a wife in Mesopotamia. Abraham wanted no part of his family hitching up with Canaanite woman. Eliezer was thirsty as he and his pack of ten camels entered the outskirts of Nahor. When he met Rebekah and she not only offered him water, but also volunteered to water the camels, he knew it was a sign that she was the one for Isaac. Poussin is creating a pictorial illustration of Rebekah offering Eliezer water. In the painting, contrary to the story, Eliezer is both simply dressed and a younger man. It is possible that he is representing Eliezer as a self-portrait. A man on a long journey away from home to quench is thirst of discovery, for Poussin, it’s not a search for a woman, but a search for artistic knowledge and connections with potential patrons (which he obviously finds). Although the story is in Mesopotamia, the background buildings strongly resemble the landscape of Rome. The structure behind Rebekah looks a lot like the Colosseum.

It was at this time that he returned to Paris, France. Why return to Paris? Well, that is generally what one did when summoned by King Louis XIII. Although the academics accepted his style as a formal ideal, he was a little overconfident. He took commissions he could not produce and the work he did make was under appreciated. Failure and illness motivated him to move back to Rome.

Poussin remained in Rome: working, evolving, ageing. His health was in a major decline starting about 1660. By 1665 his painting career was over, largely due to his suffering from Parkinson’s disease. This was the year of his death. Preceded in death by his wife, Nicolas Poussin only left behind one adopted son (Gaspar Poussin), who was biologically his wife’s brother (making his sister his mom).

As an artist that worked in isolation, Poussin liked the solitary life of an artist. Luckily his talent was no secret. In the work, we see his love for Roman architecture, but also his need to create a moral lesson within the work. A morality set in nature, Poussin believed, was the main ingredient to art. The best way to communicate is with a focused design. Using Raphael Sanzio as the inspiration, Poussin created idealized works that were deeply dependent on his drawing ability and the compositional design of the painting as a whole. His paintings looked a topics that ranged from historical, to mythological, and religious in content. Due to the high regard that the French academics had for Poussin, the French Royal Academy contrasted his style with Peter Paul Rubins’ style in the eighteenth century, thus creating the Poussinist style. Sadly, well after he had already died and never saw the impact that he created. The Poussinist style is adopted by artists that felt more strongly about drawing and composition than color. "Colors in painting are as allurements for persuading the eyes, as the sweetness of meter is in poetry." Art is more for the brain than the eye; an idea that would impact generations of artists to follow.