Studies of Details from Trajan’s Column

Description

Nicolas Poussin’s Studies of Details from Trajan’s Column gathers Roman figures into several rows on a vertical brown sheet. Soldiers, helmets, shields and a boat appear among the relief details, with smaller standing figures arranged below. Made around 1635 in pen, brown ink and wash, the drawing isolates portions of the ancient monument rather than attempting to reproduce the entire column as one continuous view.

A relief presents figures as part of a continuous carved surface, while a study on paper can separate and emphasize particular relationships. Poussin’s lines and washes offer different means of recording contour and volume, keeping the encounter with antiquity visibly active. The drawing’s interest lies in that translation between media. It preserves the attention of an artist considering historical forms, allowing the viewer to follow details that might otherwise be absorbed into the monument’s much larger narrative.

Read our guide to giclée prints or browse the Nicolas Poussin collection.