
The Genius of Salvator Rosa
<p>A bizarre and brilliant artist, Salvator Rosa was also known as an eccentric and extraordinary personality in the Baroque era, a persona embodied in <em>The Genius of Salvator Rosa</em>. The inscription reads “Sincere, free, fiery painter and equable, despiser of wealth and death, this is my genius, Salvator Rosa,” while the trumpeting cherub and prominent figure of Fame especially underscore his ambitions as a painter of profound allegories and histories. Finally, the crumpled music pages and grass growing over a sculpture reveal his admission that there is a possibility of failure.</p>
Catalogue
- Year
- 1657
- Dimensions
- Plate: 46 × 27.5 cm (18 1/8 × 10 7/8 in.); Sheet: 58 × 43.6 cm (22 7/8 × 17 3/16 in.)
- Collection
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Artist
- Salvator Rosa
Artist

Painting
Salvator Rosa is best known today as an Italian Baroque painter, whose romanticised landscapes and history paintings, often set in dark and untamed nature, exerted considerable influence from the 17th century into the early 19th century. In his lifetime, he was among the most famous painters, known for his flamboyant personality, and regarded as an accomplished poet, satirist, actor, musician and printmaker. He was active in Naples, Rome, and Florence, where on occasion he was compelled to move between cities, as his caustic satire earned him enemies in the artistic and intellectual circles of the day.
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More by Salvator Rosa
Saint William of Maleval
1780 · Etching in sanguine on ivory laid paper
Apollo and the Cumean Sibyl
1780 · Etching on ivory laid paper
Polycrates' Crucifixion
1664 · Oil on canvas
Polycrates and the Fisherman
1664 · Oil on canvas
Dream of Aeneas
1663 · Etching on ivory laid paper
Jason and the Dragon
1663 · etching and drypoint
Record
Verified by WattsOS- Artist
- Salvator Rosa
- Year
- 1657
- Dimensions
- Plate: 46 × 27.5 cm (18 1/8 × 10 7/8 in.); Sheet: 58 × 43.6 cm (22 7/8 × 17 3/16 in.)
- Watts ID
- WW-1657-124265
Source
- Collection
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Source
- aic
- Reference
- View at source
- Status
- verified





