The Death of Germanicus
Nicolas Poussin, 1627
Germanicus dying among legionaries and family — imperial tragedy with stoic daylight.
About this work
Nicolas Poussin painted The Death of Germanicus in 1627 for Cardinal Francesco Barberini, nephew of Pope Urban VIII. Poussin was then a young painter who had settled in Rome only in 1624, and he is probably the first artist ever to paint the subject. The story comes from the Annals of Tacitus. Germanicus, the popular Roman general who had won his name fighting the Germans, was sent to Syria, where he clashed with the governor Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso, and he died there. On his deathbed, shown here, he asks his wife Agrippina, his family and his officers to avenge him. The grieving soldiers on the left and the mourning women on the right are arranged like a frieze, and the composition may borrow from the Death of Meleager on ancient Roman sarcophagi. The painting was delivered on January 21, 1628, for 60 crowns, and its success quickly won Poussin a commission for an altarpiece in St Peter's. It stayed with the Barberini family until 1958, when the Minneapolis Institute of Art acquired it. Jacques-Louis David later said of his Oath of the Horatii, "it is to Poussin that I owe my painting".
Sources: Wikipedia · Wikipedia: Nicolas Poussin
Print facts
- Native resolution
- 4,284 × 3,188 px
- Sharp at 150 ppi up to
- 28 × 21 in
- Sizes
- Small (20 × 15 in) · $100 · 213 ppi
Medium (24 × 18 in) · $150 · 177 ppi
Large (36 × 27 in) · $300 · 118 ppi - Price includes
- Frame and US shipping · 14–21 days · 30-day returns
FAQ
Where can I buy a framed print of The Death of Germanicus?
Here. The Death of Germanicus is available as a framed print in three sizes: Small (20 × 15 in) for $100, Medium (24 × 18 in) for $150 and Large (36 × 27 in) for $300. Prices include the frame and US shipping; delivery takes 14–21 days, with 30-day returns.
What size works best for The Death of Germanicus?
The file is 4,284 × 3,188 px. Medium (24 × 18 in) is the largest size that prints at 150 ppi or more (177 ppi), the sharpest choice for close viewing; Large (36 × 27 in) prints at 118 ppi, fine from a few feet away but softer up close.
Is it legal to print The Death of Germanicus?
Yes. The Death of Germanicus is in the public domain: its copyright, if it ever had one, expired long ago. In the United States a faithful photograph of a public-domain painting does not create a new copyright (Bridgeman v. Corel, 1999), so the image can be printed and sold freely.
