A Witch

Salvator Rosa prints bring the drama of wild nature into your home: storm-torn trees, rocky coasts, bandits and lonely hermits. Rosa was an Italian Baroque painter, poet, actor and satirist whose untamed landscapes later became models for Romantic painters. This collection gathers art prints of his landscapes, battle scenes, witchcraft pictures, philosophical subjects and his many lively etchings and drawings of soldiers and figures.

About Salvator Rosa

Salvator Rosa was born in Naples in 1615. His father died when he was seventeen, leaving him to support his mother and siblings. He trained with his brother-in-law Francesco Fracanzano, a pupil of Ribera, and then with the battle painter Aniello Falcone, helping him finish his battle scenes.

After a first stay in Rome, Rosa returned there in 1638–39. Around 1640 Giovanni Carlo de' Medici invited him to Florence, where he stayed until 1649. There he ran a lively salon of poets, playwrights and painters known as the Accademia dei Percossi, wrote satires and met Lucrezia Paolini, who became his lifelong companion.

He settled in Rome again in 1649. His biting satire made him enemies, and the plague of 1656 in Naples killed several members of his family. In his later years he painted large works such as Saul and the Witch of Endor and a battle piece now in the Louvre. Days before his death in Rome in March 1673, he married Lucrezia.

Style and Subjects

Rosa is best known for his original landscapes of "sublime" nature: wild, rocky and often threatening, with tiny figures of bandits, soldiers or hermits dwarfed by cliffs, storms and shattered trees. They are the opposite of the calm, idealized views of Claude Lorrain, and later made him a hero of the Romantic movement.

As a history painter he chose unusual subjects from the Bible, mythology and the lives of ancient philosophers. He also painted battles, allegories, scenes of witchcraft and many self-portraits, and he was a gifted etcher whose prints of soldiers and figures spread his style widely.

Famous Works

• Torture of Prometheus (c. 1640), Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica, Rome. A violent mythological scene from his early career.
• Philosophy (c. 1645), National Gallery, London. A brooding self-portrait as a philosopher.
• Heroic Battle (1652), Louvre, Paris. A huge battle scene full of carnage, painted in just 40 days.
• L'Umana Fragilità (Human Frailty) (c. 1656), Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge. A dark allegory on the shortness of life.
• Allegory of Fortune (1658), J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles. The goddess Fortune pours her riches out to undeserving animals.
• The Dream of Aeneas (c. 1660), Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. The Trojan hero dreams beside the river god Tiber.
• Saul and the Witch of Endor (1668), Louvre, Paris. The witch summons the ghost of Samuel for King Saul.

Decorating with Rosa Prints

Rosa's dark, wild landscapes and coastal scenes suit a study, library or living room with deep colors, leather and dark wood. Their browns, greens and stormy skies have a moody, romantic feeling that works well with candlelight and antique frames.

His etchings and drawings of soldiers and figures make a strong gallery wall for a hallway or home office, and his witchcraft and allegory pictures add a touch of mystery to a reading corner.

FAQ

What art movement was Salvator Rosa part of?

Rosa was an Italian Baroque painter, active in Naples, Rome and Florence. His wild landscapes made him a forerunner of Romanticism.

What is Salvator Rosa's most famous painting?

Allegory of Fortune (1658) at the Getty Museum and Philosophy (c. 1645) at the National Gallery in London are among his best-known works, along with his many rugged landscapes with bandits.

Where can I see Rosa's original paintings?

The Louvre, the National Gallery in London, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Getty Museum, the Hermitage and the Galleria Palatina in Florence all hold his work.

How can you recognize a Salvator Rosa painting?

Look for rugged cliffs, blasted trees, stormy skies and small figures of soldiers, bandits or hermits, painted in dark browns and greens. His history pictures often show unusual or philosophical subjects.

Why was Rosa called "the Anti-Claude"?

Rosa's landscapes are wild and threatening, while Claude Lorrain's are calm and idealized. Critics contrasted the two, and Rosa's dramatic vision influenced later Romantic painters such as John Martin.

Related Artists

• Aniello Falcone — the Neapolitan battle painter he trained with
• Jusepe de Ribera — leading painter in Naples, whose circle shaped his training
• Claude Lorrain — the calm, classical landscape painter he is often contrasted with
• Gaspard Dughet — fellow landscape painter working in Rome
• Alessandro Magnasco — later Italian painter of wild scenes and figures in his manner