Underground Rivers - University of New Mexico

"Et In Arcadia Ego, I" (1630)
Chapter 28 -- Et In Arcadia Ego
"Et In Arcadia Ego, I" depicts three men and a woman, two of
the men and the woman occupied with the apparent
discovery of a tomb. The inscription "Et In Arcadia Ego"
seems to have an unsettling effect.
In the lower right sits the river god Alpheus, seemingly allied
with nature, not culture. In his hand is an urn representing
Arethusa Fountain, the flowing water suggesting the
continuity of time. The god and his urn were present before
this scene occurred and will be there after the drama is
spent.
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"Et in Arcadia Ego, II" (1637-1638)
In "Et In Arcadia Ego, II," three shepherds point at the tomb's inscription, but absent is an air of
melancholic contemplation. Poussin's Venetian training shows in the golden orange, scarlet, and
midnight blue. The shepherds have figuratively eaten of the apple by Eve in Eden. Classical
painters of the era used statuary as female models and the enigmatic female looks frozen.
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