Although he spent most of his career in Rome, Nicolas Poussin is considered the leading artist of the French Baroque style. His paintings are known for their narrative clarity, dramatic scenes, and successful blending of vibrant Renaissance style with the calculated design of classic antiquity. The majority of his works are historical scenes with mythological or religious elements. Poussin favored line over color, perhaps because he studied Renaissance engravings during his youth. Poussin’s highly-regarded, cool, detatched style and fervent commitment to art theory, earned him the nickname ‘the philosopher painter.’