Considered the most brilliant of the painters coming in the wake of Caravaggio, and one of the greatest French artists-indeed, the equal of Poussin-Valentin de Boulogne (1591-1632) spent the greater part of his career in Rome executing prestigious papal commissions. His work was also collected by people in power, most notably Cardinal Mazarin and Louis XIV, and throughout the 19th century served as a model for...