Landscape during a Thunderstorm with Pyramus and Thisbe, Nicolas Poussin
Nicolas Poussin
Landscape during a Thunderstorm with Pyramus and Thisbe
DE
Back to top

Nicolas Poussin

Landscape during a Thunderstorm with Pyramus and Thisbe, 1651


Dimensions
191 x 274 cm
Physical Description
Oil on canvas
Inventory Number
1849
Acquisition
Acquired in 1931
Status
On display, 2nd upper level, Old Masters, room 11

Texts

About the Work

Nicolas Poussin executed this painting in Rome in 1651 for Cassiano dal Pozzo, a well-known scholar and patron of the arts. Its literary source is the tragic Romeo-and-Juliet-like story of Pyramus and Thisbe, told by Ovid in his ‘Metamorphoses’. Poussin chose the dramatic moment in which Thisbe discovers her dead lover. He has thrown himself upon his sword in the belief that Thisbe has been torn to pieces by a lioness. Here, the artist brilliantly combined the tragedy experienced by the characters with an ideal landscape and a depiction of the forces of nature.

Audio & Video

  • Basic information
    01:10
  • Focus on art history
    02:06
  • Focus on material
    02:50
  • Highlights of the Städel Collection
    02:11
  • KunstIStück – Nicolas Poussin: Gewitterlandschaft mit Pyramus und Thisbe
    Sammlungshighlights des Städel Museums in unterhaltsamen und informativen Filmen – das sind die Kunst|Stücke. Entdecken Sie spannende Details zu Kunstwerken aus ungewöhnlichen Blickwinkeln in unter zwei Minuten. Nicolas Poussin: Gewitterlandschaft mit Pyramus und Thisbe, 1651, Städel Museum, Frankfurt am Main. https://sammlung.staedelmuseum.de/de/werk/gewitterlandschaft-mit-pyramus-und-thisbe#yt
  • ASK AN ARTWORK – Fragen an die Kunst, Antworten aus dem Home Office: Nicolas Poussin
    Ein gewaltiges Gewitter tobt über Poussins "Gewitterlandschaft mit Pyramus und Thisbe". Die Landschaft scheint der Hauptakteur zu sein, oder warum sind die Figuren nur so klein dargestellt? Und was ist mit ihnen passiert? Wurde der Mann vom Blitz getroffen? In der Serie ASK AN ARTWORK beantwortet die Kunsthistorikerin Anna Huber (Mitarbeiterin der Abteilung Bildung und Vermittlung) aus dem Home Office Fragen, die wir an die Kunst haben. Denn während der Coronakrise kommt das Städel zu euch: #StaydelAtHome Findet Nicolas Poussins Werk "Gewitterlandschaft mit Pyramus und Thisbe" in der Digitalen Sammlung: https://sammlung.staedelmuseum.de/de/werk/gewitterlandschaft-mit-pyramus-und-thisbe A vast storm blasters over Poussins "Landscape during a Thunderstorm with Pyramus and Thisbe". The landscape seems to be the main actor, or why is it, that the figures are shown so small? And what happend to them? Was the man struck by lightning? In the series ASK AN ARTWORK art historian Anna Huber (Educational Department of the Städel Museum) answers the questions that we have for art – from home office. Because during the Corona-Crisis, if you can’t come to the Städel Museum, then the Städel Museum will come to you: #StaydelAtHome Find Nicolas Poussin's "Landscape during a Thunderstorm with Pyramus and Thisbe" in our Digital Collection: https://sammlung.staedelmuseum.de/en/work/landscape-during-a-thunderstorm-with-pyramus-and-thisbe

Work Data

Basic Information

Title
Landscape during a Thunderstorm with Pyramus and Thisbe
Painter
Contractor, employer
Period Produced
School
Object Type
Physical Description
Oil on canvas
Material
Technique

Property and Acquisition

Institution
Administration
Collection
Creditline
Städel Museum, Frankfurt am Main
Picture Copyright
Public Domain
Acquisition
Acquired in 1931

Work Content

Motifs and References

Genre
Main Motif
Persons Shown
Associated Persons and Institutions
Illustrated Passage
  • Ovid: Metamorphosen, 4. Buch, Pyramus und Thisbe, 142

Iconclass

Primary
Secondary
  • 25I city-view, and landscape with man-made constructions
  • 26E2 lightning, flash of lightning, thunderbolt
  • 25H214 lake

Research and Discussion

Provenance

Object History
Auftrag von Cassiano del Pozzo (1588-1657)
Familie del Pozzo, bis 1729
...
Sir William Morice, Werrington, Devonshire, seit spätestens 1750
vererbt an seinen Cousin Humfrey Morice (1723-1785)
verkauft an Lord Ashburnham, 1768
Verst. Christie's (Sale of the Ashburnham Collection), London, an Wilmot, 20. Juli 1850
...
Max Rothschild, London, 1923
...
Asti, Paris, 1926
...
Kunsthandlung Julius Böhler, München
verkauft an das Städelsche Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt am Main, 1931.

Information

Since 2001, the Städel Museum has systematically been researching the provenance of all objects that were acquired during the National Socialist period, or that changed owners or could have changed owners during those years. The basis for this research is the “Washington Declaration”, also known as the “Washington Conference Principles”, formulated at the 1998 “Conference on Holocaust-Era Assets” and the subsequent “Joint Declaration”.

The provenance information is based on the sources researched at the time they were published digitally. However, this information can change at any time when new sources are discovered. Provenance research is therefore a continuous process and one that is updated at regular intervals.

Ideally, the provenance information documents an object’s origins from the time it was created until the date when it found its way into the collection. It contains the following details, provided they are known:

  • the type of acquisition and/or the way the object changed hands
  • the owner's name and place of residence
  • the date on which it changed hands

The successive ownership records are separated from each other by a semicolon.

Gaps in the record of a provenance are indicated by the placeholder “…”. Unsupported information is listed in square brackets.

If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact the museum at .

More to discover

Albums

Contact

Do you have any suggestions, questions or information about this work?

Last update

15.05.2023