Abstract

The paintings of Nicolas Poussin (1594–1665) are like a secret code. Their
mythological narratives and reconstructions of ancient ruins are intended to evoke
contemplation and reflection. The longer one gazes at a work to decipher the images
and symbols hidden within it, the clearer the allegorical layers become. The
fundamental subject underlying this research deals with the range of meanings of the
figure of the river god in Poussin’s ouevre and its contribution to the understanding of
the work itself.

The large-scale bearded male figure of a river god is discernible in many of

Poussin’s paintings. Flanking the river god in these works is a pitcher that is either
empty or brimming with water suggestive of a river source. The river god, usually
depicted semi-nude with his legs covered by a blue or green cloth, is often
accompanied by nymphs or putti. He reclines in the landscape, leaning on his elbow
which is supported by the water pitcher or alternatively he holds a horn of plenty.
Though the river god appears as if he is a part of the narrative, the other figures in the
scene do not relate to his presence or include him in their conversation.

Although scholars such as Malcom Bull and Ruth Rubinstein note that Poussin
enjoyed depicting river gods everywhere possible, the meaning of these river gods in
the context of his paintings has never been fully explored.

In this study I suggest a unique interpretive approach to the figure of the river
god in the work of Nicolas Poussin. One of the main objectives of this study is to
explore how the figure of the river god endows the scene with additional meanings,
allowing the viewer new insight into the overall meaning of the work.

I consider the multivalent figure of the river god, who is variously portrayed as
an image of prosperity, fertility, life, and act of creation on the one hand, and as a
symbol of death, and a warning of death, a savior in times of danger and an aid in
situations of distress, on the other. The river god represents a new elegiac pattern
expressive of the sentiments of sorrow and mourning, the natural world, and the
notion of transience.

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 In many of the paintings it is possible to link the appearance of the river god to
the narrative through the writings of the ancient poets such as Virgil (70–19 BCE),
Ovid (43 BCE–17 CE), and Philostratus (170–247 CE), whose works would have
been known to Poussin. In the painting Daphne and Apollo (fig. 88), the figure of the
river god is integral to the story: Ovid records that the river god Peneus was the father
of Daphne (Metamorphosis 1:452-565). Nonetheless, the river god in other of
Poussin’s paintings is not connected to the narrative, which suggests that the artist
conjured a new and innovative interpretation of a metaphorical and allegorical nature
for this figure.

Poussin’s thoughts and reservations regarding the representation and meaning

of the river god can be gleaned by comparing various versions of paintings in which
the figure of the river god appears, and by following the artist’s creative process, from
the earliest drawing to the finished painting. The two versions of The Arcadian
Shepherds, for example, illustrate this quite clearly: while the river god appears in the
earlier version (c. 1628; fig. 30), another allegorical figure appears in his place in the
later version (Louvre, c. 1650–55). Comparison of the various preparatory drawings
for finished works show the changes that were made during the working process,
which reflect the artist’s change of mind regarding the depiction of the river god and
his placement in the painting. For example, in the preparatory drawing for Daphne
and Apollo (fig. 111), Poussin emphasized the river god’s meaning as a savior from
the peril of death. In this study I relate to these changes and their significance, and
discuss the creative process and the considerations that may have guided the artist in
the construction of the final composition of the painting.

Poussin aspired to recreate the spirit of antiquity in his paintings, which for
him, was the inspiration for the depiction of “perfect nature.”1 In his portrayals of
nature Poussin often depicted water, natural springs, and flowing streams. The
depictions of otium, the enjoyment of being alone and at leisure in nature, in Poussin’s
paintings are imbued with a dualistic meaning. On one hand, these are depictions that
always appear in antithesis to the tumultuous subject of the painting, with the purpose
of heightening the tragedy that is about to occur or in order to portray the indifference
of nature (and of humanity) to the tragic fate of the individual human being. On the

1 A. Blunt, Nicolas Poussin (London 1995, rpt. 1967), 227.

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other hand, landscape paintings from the end of the 1640s that depict the historical
landscape of ancient Rome and emphasize the peacefulness of the countryside as
opposed to the noise of the city, were the “havens” for Poussin’s patrons from France,
who saw in them a place of refuge from the turbulent events that were taking place in
Paris (the rise of the Fronde). These representations of water, springs, and rivers,
whose inspiration was derived from antiquity, influenced the image of the river god as
formulated in the works of Poussin. This study presents the interpretations of the river
god from antiquity and views them as a possible source of inspiration for his work.
The river god in Poussin’s paintings, who represents the water of nature that flows
from his pitcher, symbolizes the terrestrial world, which on the one hand is in a
constant state of flux and on the other contains an element of the eternal. He
represents these moments of change that occur in nature and symbolizes the harmony
of opposites in the natural world, the opposing forces that exist side by side.

The image of the river god from antiquity was preserved in medieval Christian
iconography, as for example the river god Eridanus features in a Carolingian
manuscript (fig. 45). The river god Jordan appears as tiny figures in scenes of the
Baptism (fig. 45a).

The portrayal of the river god in the works of seventeenth century artists in
Rome continued the tradition of the sixteenth century revival of this iconographic
motif, following the discovery there in 1512 of ancient colossal statues, and their
subsequent identification as the river gods of the Tiber and the Nile. This discovery
had a tremendous effect on the artists of the period, who incorporated depictions of
river gods in their works in diverse ways, and gave them various interpretations.

These statues were influential in the work of Michelangelo, as is apparent in

the design program for the Medici burial chapel (Florence, 1519–34). Though the
design was not executed in its entirety, it expresses Michelangelo’s artistic and
philosophical thought, and treats the subject of death, principally fate, and the
struggles of living in the temporal world. The river gods in these plans were intended
to serve as a metaphor for the terrestrial world in which the motifs of death and time
(the fate of mankind) exist side by side. In three drawings by Michelangelo for
Tommaso Cavalieri, of the myth of Phaethon and his fall into the river Eridanos, the
image of the river god takes on various forms—merciful father, savior from danger,

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witness, observer, and mourner over the death of Phaethon—which also characterize
the river god in the works of Poussin. I suggest a new reading of Marcantonio
Raimondi’s Judgment of Paris (fig. 83) after a lost drawing by Raphael, in which the
river gods and nymphs appear as part of nature that functions as a framework for the
whole composition. I emphasize nature’s rejection of and objection to the judgment
and its fateful consequences.

Poussin’s paintings were meant for an educated viewer able to identify the
figures and symbols and their context and to understand their meanings. The
placement, pose, and direction of the gaze of the river god was intended to guide the
viewer in his study of the work, to ruminate on the themes, and decipher their
meaning. In this study I emphasize the importance of the place of the river god in the
dialogue taking place between artist, painting, and viewer.

I propose that Poussin used the figure of the river god as a way to voice his
own thoughts regarding the unstable cultural and political climate of his day. The
river gods in his works who display sorrow and grief over death, as for example in
Apollo and Daphne (fig. 88), in my view convey the spirit of the turbulent times,
which was experiencing the effects of the long and drawn out Thirty Years War,
including political upheaval. Through the image of the river god, who predicts the
future that will be filled with pain and sorrow over needless death, the artist hints at
his own moral stance and creates a dialogue on this subject with the viewer. The
mourning figure of the river god, as he appears in Apollo and Daphne functions as a
metaphor for the sorrow that accompanies the threat of death and of actual death.

The river god in Poussin’s paintings is also portrayed as a spectator, watching

the heroes in the main narrative. I suggest that Poussin conceived of a new prototype
for the figure of the river god as both a seer and a symbol of death, who predicts the
impending death of the characters in the narrative, as in Apollo and Daphne (fig. 88),
Pan and Syrinx (fig. 91), and Venus and Adonis (figs. 118, 132). Thus, he is not
merely watching the unfolding scene; he predicts and symbolizes the sorrowful
outcome of the events. This is compatible with the fundamental elegiac character of
Poussin’s oeuvre, a common thread throughout all of his works.

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 River gods also feature in the works of other seventeenth-century artists
working in Rome who created works that served the political propaganda of the
secular rulers and the Church. These rulers commissioned artists to build fountains
that provided running water which were meant to show the abundance and prosperity
of their rule. This present study considers the depiction of river gods in the work of
Pietro Testa (1612–1650), Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640), and Gian Lorenzo Bernini
(1598–1680), and discusses the visual sources and various meanings the artists
attributed to them.

Chapter one of this research looks at the antique sources and visual traditions
of the river god. The perception of ancient philosophers regarding the motif of water
and the river is presented along with analysis of the literary and visual sources of the
river god Oceanus in antiquity. The chapter treats the varied imagery of the river god
in antiquity.

Chapter two treats the image of the river god preserved in medieval Christian
iconography and the discovery of the statues of the river gods in Rome in 1512, their
identification, and subsequent depiction in the works of sixteenth-century artists. The
chapter discusses the influence of these newly discovered sculptures on the work of
Michelangelo, who was engaged in their restoration and identification. Michelangelo
took part in the restoration of the sculpture of the river god of the Tigris, and created
what looked like a natural cove for the river god. He incorporated the figures of river
gods into the decorative program of the Medici Chapel and depicted river gods in
drawings done for Tomasso Cavlieri (discussed above). In the works of Raphael
river gods are portrayed in a variety of gestures and poses, as witnesses to the acts of
heroes and as observers, and demonstrate their loyalty to their ruler Pope Leo X.
Special emphasis is given to the depictions of the natural landscape in which the river
gods and nymphs appear, as in the etching The Judgment of Paris by Marcantonio
Raimondi, after Raphael (fig. 83). This chapter presents the river gods in the work of
Peruzzi in the Villa Farnesina in Rome and in Giulio Romano’s Palazzo Te in Mantua
(fig. 95, 97), and their influence on the work of Poussin. The river god of the Tiber in
the work of Bronzino emphasizes the mourning and grief depicted in the Martyrdom
of Saint Laurence (fig. 104). Images of the sleeping river gods are presented in the
work of Primaticcio, a member of the school of Fontainebleau, for example in Hera

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Descending into the Kingdom of Sleep (fig. 101). In addition, this chapter discusses
Poussin’s literary influences, particularly Pontus de Tyard’s 1586 Fables des fleuves
ou fontaines avec description pour la peinture, and the poems of Poussin’s personal
friend Giovanni Battista Marino (1569–1625).

The second part of this research is dedicated to the river god in the work of
Nicolas Poussin, as portrayed in various mythological scenes and as carrying diverse
allegorical meanings. Chapter three deals with historical and mythological themes in
which emphasis is given on the one hand to the destructive and deadly power of the
river and its transformations, and on the other hand to images of the river god as
savior from danger and death. River gods symbolize the basic element of water and
the motif of fertility, growth, and vitality. They emphasize the power of variability in
nature and the opposing forces at work in it that create harmony and order.
Descriptions of the river god from Ovid’s Metamorphosis, present the river god’s dual
nature, as a symbol of abundance and fertility and as warning about danger and death.
The chapter goes on to discuss Arcadian motifs in which descriptions of nature are
emphasized. The chapter presents the image of the river god as observer as analogical
to the viewer of the painting, as a witness to the various narratives, and as
prophetically foreseeing the death of the hero. He embodies an image of purity, and is
presented as one who removes the sins from King Midas (fig. 43). The chapter
presents Poussin’s interpretations of the image of the river god of the Tiber, depicted
in Virgil’s epic Aeneas as the savior from danger, Aeneas’s loyal companion, and
symbol of the founding of Rome. The figure of the river god emphasizes his prophetic
foresight of the founding of a new Troy and his being a mediator for and assistant to
the gods. In addition, this chapter discusses the images of the river god of the Nile as
defining a geographical place, Egypt, and the river god’s dual nature, as a place of
deadly danger and of refuge. The figure of the river god establishes itself as the
largest and most powerful river in the biblical story of Moses: it takes the infant from
its parents, hides him, transports him along his waters, and saves him from death. In
the stories of Moses, the artist hints at the connection that exists between the various
pagan religions and emphasizes the notion of syncretism of ancient beliefs and rituals
that was widespread in the seventeenth century. The motifs of metamorphosis and of
being saved from death are illustrated in the depictions of the river god Orentes in
Poussin’s rendering of the poem “Jerusalem Liberated” (1581), by Torquato Tasso.

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The energetic image of the river god represents the travels of the hero Rinaldo, the
journey of Armida, and her metamorphosis. The river god functions as a metaphor of
change and movement in the inner struggles of Armida, her transformation from
hatred to love.

Chapter four presents Poussin’s innovations, particularly in his placement of

the river god as the arbiter of the dialogue that takes place between artist, painting,
and viewer. Poussin’s paintings appeal to an educated, erudite audience that is able to
identify the figures and locate the symbols embedded in the painting. The river god
guides the viewer to study the scene, to reflect on the themes depicted, and decipher
the hidden meanings. The river god is a kind of internal viewer of the scene and
rouses the viewer to follow the narrative. The lone figure of the river god, who gazes
at nature and its regularity, as in Paris and Oenone, (fig. 107), invites the viewer to
observe nature and reflect on man’s place in it and of the motif of death, which
constitutes a stratum within the system of the laws of nature.

The widespread use by artists of the seventeenth century from Rome and
beyond, of the figure of the river god is the subject of the final chapter of this study.
Chapter five comprises a comparative study of the image of the river god in the work
of artists from the seventeenth century. Among the works examined is the figure of
the river god as mourner in the paintings of Pietro Testa, Alexander the Great
Rescued from the River Cydnos (fig. 171), in which the mourning figure, shivering
from cold, symbolizes the danger of death and stresses nature’s role in the suffering of
the hero. The river god in the context of political propaganda is portrayed in the
Allegory in Honor of the Arrival of Cardinal Marcantonio Franciotti, Bishop of
Lucca (fig. 177), in which the river god welcomes the Bishop of Lucca at the city
gate, emphasizing the abundance of water and the fertility of nature. River gods in the
context of papal propaganda are found in the Fontana di Quattro Fiume (Fountain of
the Four Rivers) by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. The river gods here express the control of
the Catholic Church over the four continents of the World. The reign of Pope
Innocent X at the close of the Thirty Years War is conveyed through the abundance of
flowing water, which signifies a new era of prosperity and political peace in the
Catholic world. The river gods depicted in the fountain stress the flow of time,
movement, and dynamism. They symbolize the grandeur of antiquity and are

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presented in analogy to the reigning pope. The river gods in the work of Peter Paul
Rubens symbolize geographical locations. The figure of the river god of the Scheldt
(fig. 182) and the river god of the Danube (fig. 186) symbolize destruction, the
difficult economic situation, and the horrors of war. The river god of the Danube in
Meeting of the Ferdinands near Nordlingen (fig. 186) is portrayed as predicting the
future battle of Nordlingen, as concerned about the consequences of war and its
impact on the future of the next generation. This chapter which presents the various
images of river gods in the works of these artists stresses Poussin’s creativity and
innovation compared to other artists of the period.

The river god in the works of Poussin is depicted as the most significant force
of nature. Through this figure, Poussin stresses the motif of the life and death of man
and of nature, and emphasizes the link between man and nature. From this research it
becomes clear that the artist, who presents death as part of a world in which there is
an eternal order and regularity, hints through the figure of the river god of the danger
of death and mainly emphasizes being saved from death. These seemingly secondary
figures of river gods and nymphs, who do not contribute directly to the main
narrative, articulate the emotional message of the work. The image of the river god,
who appears like an archeological reference, signifies the passing of time and the
atmosphere of antiquity which the artist recreated through his appreciation of the
antique sources that served as his inspiration. The role of the river god is to awaken
the viewer’s attention and his emotions, to invite him to observe the heroes of the
narrative and analogically in his own life. The river god in the works of Poussin
provokes reflection worthy of a philosophical discussion about the powers that rule
over our lives.

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