Britannica Sources used in this answer

Why was Nicolas Poussin unhappy while working in Paris?

Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

Nicolas Poussin: Adoration of the Golden Calf — Nicolas Poussin *Adoration of the Golden Calf*, oil on canvas by Nicolas Poussin, c. 1634. 153.4 × 211.8 cm.

Nicolas Poussin’s time in Paris, beginning in December 1640, was one of the unhappiest periods of his career. Although he had been appointed First Painter to King Louis XIII, he was deeply reluctant to leave Rome and felt pressured into the move by Cardinal Richelieu.1

His unhappiness stemmed primarily from the nature of his royal duties. Poussin was tasked with a wide range of diverse projects, including decorating the Louvre, painting altarpieces, and designing book illustrations. He found the requirement to work with a team of assistants, as well as the constant, varied demands of the king, to be deeply inimical to his creative integrity and personal independence.1

Frustrated by these constraints, Poussin eventually secured permission to return to Rome in 1642, ostensibly to retrieve his wife, and he never returned to the French court.1