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Who was Cassiano dal Pozzo and how did he support Nicolas Poussin?
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Nicolas Poussin
Adoration of the Golden Calf, oil on canvas by Nicolas Poussin, c. 1634. 153.4 × 211.8 cm.
Cassiano dal Pozzo was a prominent 17th-century scholar, antiquarian, and art collector based in Rome. Around 1627, he became acquainted with Nicolas Poussin, establishing a relationship that would make him the artist's chief Italian patron and one of his closest friends.1
Pozzo provided significant support to Poussin’s career, most notably by helping him secure the commission for The Martyrdom of St. Erasmus, an altarpiece intended for St. Peter’s Basilica, in 1628. Although the work did not achieve the critical success Poussin hoped for, the patronage of Pozzo remained a cornerstone of the artist's life and professional development in Rome.1