''The Seven Sacraments'' refers to two series of paintings of the seven sacraments by the French painter

Nicolas Poussin Nicolas Poussin (, , ; June 1594 – 19 November 1665) was the leading painter of the classical French Baroque style, although he spent most of his working life in Rome. Most of his works were on religious and mythological subjects painted for a ...

First series

Seven Sacraments - Ordination II (1647) Nicolas Poussin

Painted between 1637 and 1640, the first series was commissioned by

Cassiano del Pozzo Cassiano dal Pozzo (1588 – 22 October 1657) was an Italian scholar and patron of arts. The secretary of Cardinal Francesco Barberini, he was an antiquary in the classicizing circle of Rome, and a long-term friend and patron of Nicolas Poussin, ...

in the second half of the 1630s and was sold to the

Dukes of Rutland Duke of Rutland is a title in the Peerage of England, named after Rutland, a county in the East Midlands of England. Earldoms named after Rutland have been created three times; the ninth earl of the third creation was made duke in 1703, in w ...

in 1784. One of the seven, ''Penance'', was destroyed in a fire at the Rutlands'

Belvoir Castle Belvoir Castle ( ) is a faux historic castle and stately home in Leicestershire, England, situated west of the town of Grantham and northeast of Melton Mowbray. The Castle was first built immediately after the Norman Conquest of 1066 an ...

in 1816, and ''Baptism'' was acquired by the

National Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art, and its attached Sculpture Garden, is a national art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of char ...

in Washington DC in 1939, where it still resides. The remaining five were still at Belvoir Castle at the time when

Anthony Blunt Anthony Frederick Blunt (26 September 1907 – 26 March 1983), styled Sir Anthony Blunt KCVO from 1956 to November 1979, was a leading British art historian and Soviet spy. Blunt was professor of art history at the University of London, dire ...

wrote his catalogue in 1966 and then were on show at the

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director o ...

in London until recently. All five of these paintings in the National Gallery were taken off show in November 2010 prior to the attempted sale of ''Ordination'' on 8 December that year. ''Ordination'' was ultimately purchased by the

Kimbell Art Museum The Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, hosts an art collection as well as traveling art exhibitions, educational programs and an extensive research library. Its initial artwork came from the private collection of Kay and Velma Kimbell, wh ...

for US$24.3 million and was displayed for the first time there on September 14, 2011. The

Fitzwilliam Museum The Fitzwilliam Museum is the art and antiquities museum of the University of Cambridge. It is located on Trumpington Street opposite Fitzwilliam Street in central Cambridge. It was founded in 1816 under the will of Richard FitzWilliam, 7th Vis ...

in Cambridge in 2013 bought ''Extreme Unction'' from the Duke of Rutland, who retains ownership of the remaining three works in the series. The images listed below are the remaining six paintings of the first series: #''Baptism'
(image)
#''Ordination'
(image)
#''Confirmation'
(image)
#''Penance'
(image)
#''Eucharist'
(image)
#''Marriage'
(image)
#''Extreme Unction'
(image)

Second series

The second series was painted for Paul Fréart de Chantelou from 1644 to 1648 and was acquired by

Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater (21 May 1736 – 8 March 1803), known as Lord Francis Egerton until 1748, was a British nobleman from the Egerton family. He was the youngest son of the 1st Duke. He did not marry, and the dukedom expire ...

in 1798. The paintings passed by descent to the Earls of Ellesmere, the last of whom became the

Duke of Sutherland Duke of Sutherland is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom which was created by William IV in 1833 for George Leveson-Gower, 2nd Marquess of Stafford. A series of marriages to heiresses by members of the Leveson-Gower family made th ...

in 1964. All of the second series, which was commissioned by Chantelou, is currently on loan at the

Scottish National Gallery The Scottish National Gallery (formerly the National Gallery of Scotland) is the national art gallery of Scotland. It is located on The Mound in central Edinburgh, close to Princes Street. The building was designed in a neoclassical style by W ...

, Edinburgh as part of the Bridgewater Loan.

Blunt, Anthony Anthony Frederick Blunt (26 September 1907 – 26 March 1983), styled Sir Anthony Blunt KCVO from 1956 to November 1979, was a leading British art historian and Soviet spy. Blunt was professor of art history at the University of London, dire ...

(1966). ''The Paintings of Nicolas Poussin: A Critical Catalogue''. London: Phaidon.

References

{{Authority control 1640 paintings 1645 paintings Paintings by Nicolas Poussin Collections of the National Gallery, London Paintings in the National Galleries of Scotland Collections of the National Gallery of Art Religious paintings