Export bar placed on £19 million Poussin
An export bar has been placed on "Confirmation" -one of the few important paintings by Nicolas Poussin in private hands and currently in the collection of the Duke of Rutland- in order to allow time for a British institution to acquire the painting
Source: Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) and G. Fernández · theartwolf.com - Image: Nicolas Poussin, "Confirmation" (1637-40). Oil on canvas, 95,5 x 121 cm.
"Confirmation" belongs to the first of two series of paintings on "The Seven Sacraments" painted by Nicolas Poussin, and acquired by the then Duke of Rutland in 1784. According to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, the recommended acquisition price for the work is £19 million, with the purchase period expiring in January 2023.
The series of "The Seven Sacraments" painted by Nicolas Poussin was, in the words of Christopher Baker, a member of the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest, "revolutionary: no artist had treated the theme in this way before. He transports you to the early years of Christianity and depicts solemn rites with a profound knowledge of archaeology and a supreme artistic sensitivity. ‘Confirmation’ is arguably the most accomplished in the sequence: it shows children quietly affirming their faith before a priest, watched by their families, with every gesture and glance carefully calibrated. Such a moving painting would represent a powerful addition to the artist’s works in U.K. collections."
Being an indisputably important painting by one of the great masters of European painting, the recommended price for "Confirmation" seems very reasonable, especially considering the multi-million dollar sales of works by modern and contemporary artists, whose works come on the market on a more regular basis. It should be noted, however, that this is not the first work in this series to come on the market in relatively recent times. In 2010, Christie's London auctioned "Ordination", carrying a pre-sale estimate of at least £15 million, but the work -despite its importance, quality and unbeatable provenance- failed to find a buyer. The following year, the Kimbell Art Museum acquired the work privately for some $24 million. In 2012, the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge acquired "Extreme Unction" for well below its £14 million valuation. Much further back in time, a few years before the Second World War, the Duke of Rutland had already sold "Baptism", which was acquired by the National Gallery in Washington.
It is therefore impossible for the series -which had already lost one of its paintings in a fire in 1816- to be exhibited together in a single museum, at least on a permanent basis. However, this could be achieved with the second series of "The Seven Sacraments" painted by Poussin between 1644 and 1648, and now in the National Galleries of Scotland on loan from the collection of the Duke of Sutherland.

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