Many of the 36 drawings, some of which were purchased by the museum at a later date, have never been seen by the public before. Owing to their delicate nature, the age of the paper and fineness of the chalk lines, these drawings have to be kept in dark conditions to stop their deterioration.
Among the highlights of the exhibition in the Twelve-Columned Hall is Poussin's "View of the Roman Campagna," executed in the early 1640s in black chalk, brush and brown washover.
This landscape, acquired by the museum in 1768, was one of Poussin's favorite subjects and serves to underline the widely held opinion that Poussin was a greater artist in his drawings than in his paintings. It seems as if the whole picture is filled with a free, sweeping single burst of shapes filled with light and air.
Last year the 400th anniversary of Poussin's birth was celebrated with exhibitions of his paintings in London and Paris.
Born in France in 1594, Poussin decided on an artistic career in 1612 after the painter Quentin Varin visited his village to produce several paintings for the Church of Le Grand Anderly.
Poussin left his home and went to Rouen and then Rome where at first he lived in utter poverty and became ill as he strived to be a success.
Success eventually came and by 1638 he was court painter to Louis XIII. Poussin's achievements were noticed by the King's powerful minister Cardinal Richelieu, who commissioned him to do work for the Grande Galerie of the Louvre palace. The chalk studies of his designs can be seen in the exhibition.
What he eventually produced did not elicit the praise he expected. He left Paris in defeat in 1642 and returned to Rome.
The classical painter's work can be divided into two distinct periods -- the First and Second Roman periods. During the First Roman Period Poussin was commissioned to make a series of mythological drawings illustrating Ovid's Metamorphoses. These are among his most important sketches.
The works in the exhibition show his artistic development from the 1640s to 1660s. The works from his more mature period includes drawings of ancient monuments, works by other artists and fragments of fantasy figures.
This collection, which equals collections of his work in the Louvre, Paris and the Queen of England's private collection in Windsor, is well known to specialists ld but not well known to the general public, so it is well worth a visit.