NEIL BARTLETT
The Seven Sacraments of Nicolas Poussin
A witty and suggestive meditation inspired by being at the tail end of a tradition that you can neither subscribe to nor watch vanish without a pang.
The Independent
In 1644, Nicolas Poussin was commissioned by Paul Fréart de Chantelou to create seven paintings depicting the founding sacraments of the Christian church. Seven precise moments in historical time, marking out the journey of the body from birth to death, from Baptism (1646) to Extreme Unction (1644).
Once completed, Poussin’s paintings were hung in a single room, each concealed behind a curtain which would only be drawn aside for honoured guests wishing to contemplate the meaning of each image for as long as they wished. The curtain would then be drawn again.
In 1997, writer and director Neil Bartlett spent seven nights at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel performing The Seven Sacraments of Nicolas Poussin, a compelling meditation on the ceremonies we use to mark the journey of the body from baptism to death, connecting the past to the present in a way that makes us re-imagine both.
Artist Robin Whitmore – whose blackboard drawings formed an integral part of the performance – made a new series of prints to accompany this special setting of Bartlett’s text.
ISBN 1 902201 04 3
67 pp., 7 b/w images, 230x 270mm
price £13.95
order no: AA 06
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