DATE: 30 January 2019

York school pupils are invited to take inspiration from ‘The Triumph of Pan’ by Nicolas Poussin (1594-1665) to create their own works of art with the winning works to go on display at York Art Gallery.

As part of the National Gallery Masterpiece Tour 2019, this nationally significant and celebrated painting will go on display at York Art Gallery from 12 July- 22 September 2019. The National Gallery and York Art Gallery are challenging school pupils to reinterpret the painting in their own way, which could include a painting, a story or poem or even animation and film as part of the ‘Take One Picture’ scheme.

Four winning schools will win two days of artist workshops and the best artworks entered into the competition will be displayed in one of York Art Gallery’s Madsen Galleries in September 2019.

Kirstie Blything, learning manager at York Museum Trust, said: “This is a great opportunity for York school children to work with this incredible painting on loan from the National Gallery.
“

We would like see a modern interpretation of this classic work looking at Poussin’s subject matter, style, technique or medium to create an exciting new work that will feature in a Madsen Gallery, while the original is on display.”

The Madsen Galleries at York Art Gallery feature diverse exhibitions from traditional to contemporary art.

To enter:

• Please download the teachers pack from the Learning section of yorkmuseumstrust.org.uk
• Submit an application form and JEPGs of up to 6 finished pieces of work per school via email to: SchoolChallenge@ymt.org.uk by 5pm on Friday 22 March 2019.

Take One…

‘Take One…’ is based on the National Gallery’s ‘Take One Picture’ scheme. It offers an exciting and innovative strategy for learning in schools.

A single artwork provides the stimulus to engage students in creative thinking and activity that crosses the curriculum, builds learning skills, raises attainment and fosters enjoyment.

You can find out more about ‘Take One..’ at the National Gallery’s ‘Take One Picture’ website.

Nicolas Poussin

Nicolas Poussin (1594 – 1665) was born at Les Andelys in Normandy and first trained in Rouen. From 1612 he lived in Paris and in 1624 travelled via Venice to Rome, where he stayed for most of his life.

His sensuous early paintings such as ‘The Nurture of Bacchus’, reflect 16th-century Venetian art, especially that of the artist, Titian. He studied antique remains and his art reflects both this and an appreciation of Raphael. Poussin read ancient writers such as Ovid and attempted to recreate ancient myth and history in his works.

Poussin mainly painted easel paintings for private patrons. His larger works for Louis XIII, made from 1640 to 1642 on his return to Paris, were less successful. His scholarly patrons in Rome and Paris included Cassiano dal Pozzo and the notable art collector, Cardinal Richelieu.

Poussin sketched in the Campagna, the countryside around Rome, with the artist Claude Lorrain, and from the late 1630s began to paint landscapes. He brought a powerful discipline to the composition of his paintings, which enhanced the solemnity of their subjects. In his later years he developed an intensely personal style in his religious and allegorical works.