How to Read Paintings: Et in Arcadia Ego by Nicolas Poussin
Contemplating the presence of death in utopia
This painting, by the French artist Nicolas Poussin, shows three men and a woman gathered around a stone tomb. They are pointing to an inscription that they have discovered carved along its side. It reads “Et in Arcadia Ego”, which translates as “Even in Arcadia, I am here”.
The figures in the scene are arranged in a harmonious pattern: look at how the two outer figures are both stood upright, their postures mirroring one another, whilst the two inner figures are both crouched down to take a closer inspection of what has been written. The artist has deliberately painted this symmetrical arrangement to not only create a visually balanced composition but also to suggest something more about the scene we are looking at. Like classical architecture, the symmetry of the parts is supposed to offer the viewer an elevated sense of order and harmony.
Set in a landscape with leafy trees and the sun shining over groves and mountains, this place represents the idyllic landscape of what is known as Arcadia.
Arcadia was an area in the central Peloponnese region of ancient Greece, a largely mountainous area, with rugged peaks and deep gorges. In ancient Greek mythology, Arcadia was the dwelling place of…
