The works of Poussin, who has throughout his life stood apart from the popular tendency toward the decorative in French art of his time, couple the surviving impulses of the Renaissance with conscious reference to the art of classical antiquity as the standard of excellence.

He values clarity of expression achieved by disegno or ‘nobility of design’ over colore or color, a concern which may be best appreciated in the line engraved copies of his works; Audran, Claudine Stella, Picart and Pesne are some of the most successfu among the many who reproduce his paintings.

Themes of tragedy and death are prevalent in Poussin's work, whose cerebral approach is exemplified ion Et in Arcadia ego, a subject he paints twice (the second version is seen at right); idealized shepherds examine a tomb inscribed with the title phrase, which is usually interpreted as a memento mori: "Even in Arcadia I exist", as if spoken by personified Death.