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FRENCH SCHOOL. oooooooo N. POUSSIN. cooooooo PRIVATE COLLECTION.

CONFIRMATION.

Remarkable for the keeping and grandeur of its composition, this picture of Confirmation was esteemed by Poussin himself. In one of his letters to M. de Chantelou he says: « It will be richer in figures than that of Extreme-Unction, and I think they can very well go together. » In an another letter, apologizing for the length of time he was about this picture, he says: Remember, sir, that these are not works that may he done whistling; like your Paris painters who, while they play, produce pictures in twenty four hours. I always think, I have done much, when I can finish a head in a day, provided it produces the effect required. I therefore beg of you to lay aside your french impatience, for if I went on, as fast as those who hurry me; I should produce nothing worth.

When Poussin did the series of the Seven Sacraments, this, of Confirmation, was the second he finished. The price he received for this picture, as also for each of the others, was 250 crowns, a little more than 800 francs, or L 35. He sent it to Paris in February 1646.

Width, 5 feet 8 inches; height, 3 feet 9 inches.

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