Winter. The flood

Born in the middle of the 17th century, Poussin's classicism was based on the works of authors of the ancient era and the Renaissance, where nature was praised as the highest embodiment of harmony. Seasons in the paintings of artists of that era were used to convey a special meaning. Using the language of allegory, painters sought to awaken in the viewer his best moral qualities, to show the unity of man and nature.

Each of the four seasons in the paintings of seventeenth-century artists represents one of the periods of human existence. Spring and summer show us childhood and adolescence, full of bright colors and emotions. Autumn is maturity, reflection on the fullness of life and preparation for a long and cold winter.
Working on his painting "The Seasons: Winter", Poussin invested it with a special symbolic meaning. The painting is filled with tragedy and the idea of the frailty of all life. The flood that swept over the earth leaves no chance for salvation to anything living. The gloomy, black sky, to which man stretches out his hand in silent prayer, is riddled with flashes of lightning. Nature is numb before the threat of impending disaster.