Guy Patton: Poussin’s Arcadian Vision: Search for the Golden Age

A talk given to the Francis Bacon Society, November 2017 Following the discovery of a unique geometry at the heart of the sub- structure of his masterpiece Les Bergers d’Arcadie, research revealed that the 17th century French artist, Nicolas Poussin, was closely affiliated to a European wide network of enlightened intellectuals of which the English statesman, Sir Francis Bacon was a major figure. Bacon is considered to have had a significant influence on the development of what can be termed Rosicrucian philosophy, shared by many of his intellectual peers. Despite some variation in approach and belief, they shared in a noble, but at that time heretical, quest typified by Bacon’s utopian vision presented in his book, New Atlantis. This was nothing less than the restoration of the mythical Golden Age through scientific discovery, personal spiritual enlightenment and social reform. Detailed research suggests that Poussin, well known to these intellectual circles, shared