Minneapolis Institute of Art

Der Tod des Germanicus (The Death of Germanicus)

Johann Joseph Freidhoff; after Nicolas Poussin

Date

1797

Medium

Engraving

Department

European Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

One of Mia’s greatest treasures in Nicolas Poussin’s painting The Death of Germanicus, completed in 1627. Immediately recognized as a masterpiece, it became the model for classicizing paintings for the next two centuries. Not only did it treat the timeless themes of death, grief, loyalty, and revenge, it also set the standard for translation of ancient Roman relief sculpture into modern painting. But how could that single painting exert such influence? Commissioned by Cardinal Francesco Barberini, it remained with descendants of the Barberini family until 1958, when Mia purchased it. Painted copies and prints, such as the present one, spread the fame of Poussin’s masterpiece. Etchings based on the painting were made in the 16- and 1700s, but Johann Joseph Freidhoff’s mezzotint was novel in its translation of the image through means that were predominantly tonal rather than linear. The result is a dramatic nocturne, somewhat more tenebrous than Poussin’s painting, thus in keeping with the Romantic spirit of German art of the late 18th century—a reminder that viewers of each generation bring their own unique vision to older works of art. Germany, Europe

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