Et in Arcadia ego (The Arcadian Shepherds) (Full)

c. 1637–1638 · Oil on canvas · Musée du Louvre, Paris

Size2:3 ratio

Frame

$79Unframed print · made to order

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Complete the setHangs well with these two

This print

Et in Arcadia ego (The Arcadian Shepherds) (Full)

The Return of the Bucintoro to the Molo on Ascension Day (Full)

The Entrance to the Grand Canal, Venice (Full)

3 × $79 at 36 × 24 in, unframed = $237 → $213.30 as a set · 10% included · free shipping

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About this work

Artist: Nicolas Poussin (1594–1665)
Year: c. 1637–1638
Medium: Oil on canvas
Original size: 85 × 121 cm
Collection: Musée du Louvre, Paris
Movement: Baroque

Three shepherds and a woman in classical dress gather around a plain stone tomb in an idealised landscape, one of them tracing with his finger the inscription Et in Arcadia ego, which can be read as the dead man saying that he too once lived in Arcadia, or as Death announcing that even in Arcadia he is present. Poussin painted it in Rome around 1637 to 1638 for Giulio Rospigliosi, the future Pope Clement IX; an earlier, more Baroque version of 1627 is at Chatsworth. The later picture is calm and geometric, the figures contemplative, the standing woman modelled on an antique statue known as the Cesi Juno. Louis XIV bought it in 1685 and hung it in his private apartment at Versailles, and it entered the Louvre in 1816. Erwin Panofsky's two essays on the ambiguity of its inscription, in 1936 and 1955, made it the most discussed sentence in art history.

This print reproduces the whole work, uncropped, from a high-resolution scan of the original. The original is in the public domain.

Details & materials

• Restored in-house from the original plate — cleaned and colour-trued at museum resolution • Heavyweight matte fine-art paper, giclée printed at 300 DPI • Sizes: 18×12, 24×16, 36×24 in; 18×12 and 24×16 and 36×24 also available framed in black or natural wood • Made to order; colours may vary slightly from screen

Shipping & returns

Produced in 2–4 business days, then shipped from the facility nearest you. Delivery is typically 3–6 business days (US/UK/EU) and 5–12 worldwide. Because each print is made to order we don't take change-of-mind returns, but if it arrives damaged or flawed we'll reprint or refund it — no return needed. Full policy →

Is this the whole painting, or a crop?

The whole work, uncropped. The image fills the print at the painting's own proportions; nothing is trimmed to fit a frame.

Is Et in Arcadia ego (The Arcadian Shepherds) in the public domain?

Yes. Nicolas Poussin (1594–1665) died more than 70 years ago and the work was published before 1929, so the painting itself is public domain. This print is a reproduction made from a high-resolution scan of the original, which is held by Musée du Louvre.

What is it printed on?

Heavyweight matte fine-art paper with pigment inks, made to order in 12×18, 16×24 and 24×36 inches; the two larger sizes are also offered framed. Colours are matched to the scan, not brightened.

When was Et in Arcadia ego (The Arcadian Shepherds) painted, and in what medium?

Et in Arcadia ego (The Arcadian Shepherds) dates from c. 1637–1638 and was made in oil on canvas; the original measures 85 × 121 cm.

What size works above a sofa or bed?

For a standard three-seat sofa or a queen bed, 24×36 inches reads as a single statement piece; 16×24 suits a narrower wall or a pairing. The print's proportions follow the original, so a landscape-format painting is wider than it is tall.

About this design

Et in Arcadia ego (The Arcadian Shepherds) (Nicolas Poussin) — the painting printed edge-to-edge at its own proportions. Et in Arcadia ego (The Arcadian Shepherds) · Nicolas Poussin · c. 1637–1638. This is a fine-art reproduction of a public-domain masterwork, shown whole and uncropped on a gallery ground, printed to order on heavyweight matte fine-art paper. Three sizes (12×18, 16×24, 24×36 in); the 16×24 and 24×36 are also offered framed. Part of the Madten Fine Art Collection. — — — Printed to order and shipped by our production partner, Gelato.

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Gallery-grade archival giclée. Rich pigment inks on heavyweight fine-art paper (or gallery-wrapped canvas) — built to last, not a poster-shop print.

Arrives perfect or we reprint it — free. Every piece is made to order; if it shows up damaged or flawed we remake it, no return needed.

Free worldwide shipping. Made & shipped from the facility nearest you — most orders arrive in ~4–8 business days.

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