
Death of Atilius Regulus
<p>Salvator Rosa paired this large-scale etching with a similarly oversize print of the crucifixion of Polycrates (the painting is also in the Art Institute collection, 1942.292). He dedicated this etching—depicting the gruesome end of the stalwart Roman consul Atilius Regulus at the hands of the Carthaginians—to his best friend, Giovanni Battista Riccardi, urging him to stay strong in the face of adverse fortune, just as Atilius Regulus “remains a firm center in the midst of so many nails.”</p>
Catalogue
- Year
- 1661
- Dimensions
- Plate: 46.2 × 72.6 cm (18 1/4 × 28 5/8 in.); Sheet: 52.7 × 76.3 cm (20 3/4 × 30 1/16 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.
Full artist profile →More
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
- 1661
- Dimensions
- Plate: 46.2 × 72.6 cm (18 1/4 × 28 5/8 in.); Sheet: 52.7 × 76.3 cm (20 3/4 × 30 1/16 in.)
- Watts ID
- WW-1661-119551
Source
- Collection
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Source
- aic
- Reference
- View at source
- Status
- verified





