Date of Award
2026
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Fine and Decorative Art and Design
Abstract
This dissertation examines Nicolas Poussin’s interpretation of Ovid’s Metamorphoses through two of his depictions of Apollo and Daphne (1625 and 1663). It explores how Poussin reinterprets the myth beyond its literary source, transforming it into a meditation on love, reason, and artistic invention. Combining visual analysis, textual comparison, and a contextual study, this dissertation situates Poussin within the intellectual milieu of seventeenth-century Rome and the broader humanist tradition reflected in his art. It argues that Poussin’s manipulation of the narrative time and geometry reveals a deliberate distancing from Ovid’s poem, privileging a moral reflection over narrative fidelity. Ultimately, the dissertation positions Poussin as a painter-philosopher who redefined a classical myth into a visual language of reason and transformation, and mortality.
Recommended Citation
de Thomaz de Bossièrre, Larissa, "Reason and Metamorphosis: Nicolas Poussin’s Visual Reinterpretation of Ovid’s Apollo and Daphne" (2026). MA in Fine and Decorative Art and Design Dissertations. 2.
https://digitalcommons.sia.edu/ma_fine_ad/2