IN Richmond this week the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts will hang two new acquisitions (see color page) that not only rank high as art but also provide a study in similarity and contrast. Both tell stories, both deal with famed warriors; and yet in treatment and technique they stand as far apart as cool, clear crystal from the warmth of flamboyant stained glass.
One is Achilles on Skyros, a prime example of the later style of Nicolas Poussin, the master of the 17th century revival of classicism in France. Painted in 1656 for the French ambassador to the Vatican, it depicts...
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