While Poussin resided at Paris, his talents, and the endowments of his
mind procured him the esteem of several men of letters and distinction,
among whom was the Cav. Marino, the celebrated Italian poet, who
happened then to be in Paris. Marino strongly urged him to accompany him
to Rome, an invitation which Poussin would gladly have accepted, had he
not then been engaged in some commissions of importance, which having
completed, he set out for Rome in 1624, where he was warmly received by
his friend Marino, who introduced him to the Cardinal Barberini. He
however derived little advantage from this favorable notice at the time,
as the Cardinal soon after left Rome on his legation to France and
Spain, and the Cav. Marino died about the same time. Poussin now found
himself a stranger, friendless and unknown in the Eternal City, in very
embarrassed circumstances; but he consoled himself with the thought that
his wants were few, that he was in the very place where he had long
sighed to be, surrounded by the glorious works of ancient and modern
art, and that he should have abundant leisure to study. Therefore,
though he could scarcely supply his necessities by the disposal of his
works, and was often compelled to sell them for the most paltry prices,
his courage did not fail him, but rather stimulated him to the greatest
assiduity to perfect himself in the art. He lodged in the same house
with Francis du Quesnoy, called Il Fiammingo, the state of whose
finances at that time were not more flourishing than his own, and he
lived in habits of intimacy and strict friendship with that eminent
sculptor, with whom he explored, studied, and modeled the most
celebrated antique statues and bas-reliefs, particularly the Meleager in
the Vatican, from which he derived his rules of proportion. At first he
copied several of the works of Titian, and improved his style of
coloring, but he afterwards contemplated the works of Raffaelle with an
enthusiasm bordering on adoration. The admirable expression and purity
of the works of Domenichino, rendered them particularly interesting to
him, and he used to regard his Communion of St. Jerome as the second
picture at Rome, the Transfiguration by Raffaelle being the first.