Explore the Poussin, England, and the Rutland Sacraments of this artwork, Extreme Unction (Poussin).
Poussin initially painted for a relatively small, but hugely enthusiastic, group of patrons, but by the 18th century collectors throughout Europe were clamouring to buy his pictures. Lord Fitzwilliam was one, though later scholarship proved that his would-be Poussin was a copy. The Duke of Rutland was more fortunate, and his purchase in 1785 of Poussin’s series of Seven Sacraments – then among the most his important works to be seen in Rome – caused a sensation in England. Their acquisition was heralded as a coup for the nation, and when the series was exhibited at the Royal Academy it was visited by King George III himself.
George III Royal Academy series of Seven Sacraments King George III Duke of Rutland