Detail from Nicolas Poussin, 'Extreme Unction', 1594-1665.
London, The National Gallery.

Come and find me...

Poussin's 'Sacraments' audio tour

The 'Sacraments' are a series of 17th-century paintings by French artist Nicolas Poussin that are displayed in Room 19.

In an engaging new guide to the series, visitors can now learn more about Poussin's pictures, with a little help from one of the characters from the paintings.

'The Sacraments' show the sacred rites that Catholic priests perform, such as Confirmation, Communion and Marriage. These would have been rites that most people in Italy experienced when the pictures were first painted, in the late 1630s and early 1640s. Poussin has tried to show each ritual as something that's both rooted in history, but also still very much part of everyday life.

You can download the audio tour below to your MP3 player. Bring it with you to Room 19 in the Gallery to listen to in front of the paintings.

Poussin's 'The Sacraments' are on loan to the National Gallery from the Trustees of the Duke of Rutland, at Belvoir Castle, in Grantham, Lincolnshire.