Nicholas Poussin, Dance to the Music of Time

My video looking at this famous painting.

Transcript:

Hello

Welcome to this session of Art Unfolded.

Today, we shall look at the painting Dance to the Music of Time by French painter Nicholas Poussin.

This exquisite painting was executed in the 1630s when the artist was in Rome and in the process of perfecting his style that would serve as an alternative to the prevailing baroque of the period. While Baroque artists depicted their subjects in a vibrant, and dramatic, manner, Poussin chose order and decorum. He was, no doubt, influenced by the Rome’s classical tradition, its splendid ruins, and the old masters such as Raphael and  Titian.

Dance to the Music of Time was commissioned by Poussin’s patron Giulio Rospigliosi. Rospigliosi was an influential man in Rome and he was later to become Pope Clement IX. In addition, he was also a poet, dramatist and even wrote operas. The patron’s love of music is quite apparent in this painting.

Dance to the Music of Time represents the wheel of fortune as it passes through time. The four dancers  represent poverty, labour, wealth and pleasure. Hard work makes it possible for one to rise from poverty to wealth. Wealth allows a life of luxury and pleasure. But, be careful. An excess of luxurious pursuit can once again bring poverty. The figures are dancing to the music played by Saturn, the god of time, or father time, who is seen here playing the lyre of Orpheus.

It is said that like many other artists of his time, Poussin’s iconography was influenced, to some extent, by Cesare Ripa’s Iconologia, an Emblem Book that provided detailed descriptions on how to depict particular morals and ethics in a human form.

But let us look at the figures in detail.

The dancer with his back towards us is generally considered to be a male. Time and fortune have not been kind to him. He is barefoot, dressed in a rag, topped with a wreath of dry leaves and withered branches.     He makes an effort to grasp labour’s hand, in the hope that she will lead him out of his current predicament. 

Labour is a muscular woman, with sunburnt shoulders. She is also barefoot, wears inexpensive clothes and her hair is covered, testimony to the harsh realities of her life of toil. She leads a hard life, full of uncertainties. She is tired, and envious of the figure of wealth. She looks over her shoulder at wealth, and is desperately reaching out to her to join in the dance.

Wealth just barely notices labour’s outstretched hand. To clasp labour’s hand would be beneath her position and dignity, and she only just touches it with disdain and indifference. Her gaze is on the bearded figure of Saturn to our right. Fortune and Time have been kind to her. She wears expensive clothes. Golden sandals, gold coloured skirt and pearls and gold in her hair. Her expression is one of pride and dignity.

In contrast to her haughty arrogance towards labour, wealth is ready to accept pleasure’s invitation to dance. Pleasure is about to entice wealth into indulgence and excess. Her white sandals, blue robe, crown of roses, and flushed cheeks depict a life of luxury and extravagance. Her seductive eyes are directed at the viewer, inviting us to participate in her lustful pursuits. Her back is towards poverty, and she may not even be aware that poverty is holding her hand, as it is hidden from our view.

To our left is a two-headed Janus statue, representing transition of time. The elderly head looks back at the dancers, while the younger head looks far away into an uncertain future. Other symbols of time include the hourglass being held and observed by the little child sitting at Father Time’s feet. Figures of such infants abound in Renaissance and Baroque art, and are known as putti. In this context, they may represent omnipresence. The other putto to the left is blowing soap bubbles, which symbolize the fragility of man.

High above the dancers, Apollo rides his heavenly chariot. In Greek mythology, Apollo was the sun god whose journey across the sky embodied the course of the sun. His chariot follows Aurora, the goddess of dawn. The sun shines most brightly on Wealth. She is indeed having her day. Poverty, in contrast,  seems hidden in the shade.

It is interesting to note that when the painting was commissioned, it was supposed to mean something else entirely.

In the original meaning, based on a French translation of the life of Bacchus, the dancing figures were to stand for the four seasons, with the figure now representing poverty                 being Bacchus, the god of wine, himself.   As the painting progressed, Poussin and his patron must have revised its meaning to what it stands for today.A good painting can unfold a tale. I hope you enjoyed this session of Art Unfolded.