The Martyrdom of St Erasmus

Martyrdom of Saint Erasmus (The Martyrdom of St Erasmus)
Artist: Nicolas Poussin
Oil painting on canvas; Size: 320x186cm; Pinacoteca Vaticana.

In the 1620s the chapels in the nave of St. Peter's, recently constructed by Carlo Maderno, needed to be completed with altarpieces, and the Fabric of St. Peter's decided to entrust the work to a large number of painters, including several foreigners like Valentin Vouet and Nicolas Poussin. Originally the commission had been given to Pietro da Cortona, and was passed on to Poussin only when the Italian artist was assigned the more prestigious task of the decoration of the chapel of the Sacrament. Pietro had already made at least one preparatory drawing, which Poussin must have taken into account, as is apparent from details like the gesture of the priest on the right. Bernini greatly appreciated the work, asserting that it showed a sound and deep ability, and that it would have made him very envious if he had been a painter.