Extreme Unction

Poussin painted Extreme Unction around 1638 as part of his celebrated series of the Seven Sacraments, painted for Cassiano dal Pozzo — one of the most learned patrons in Rome and Poussin's closest intellectual ally. The sacrament of Extreme Unction — the last rites administered to the dying — is depicted in an early Christian setting, with participants in Roman-era dress gathered around a deathbed lit by lamp and candle. The archaeological authenticity of the setting, studied through Cassiano's vast collection of drawings after ancient Roman monuments, was as important to the series' ambition as its theological content. Poussin's series were the most learned religious paintings of the seventeenth century, treating the sacraments not as timeless Catholic practices but as historically specific early Christian rites.

The solemn, classically composed interior scene uses restrained gestures and a muted palette to convey the gravity of the last rites, with carefully researched ancient Roman furnishings and costumes.