Art Institute of Chicago

The Genius of Salvator Rosa

Salvator Rosa

Date

1662

Medium

Etching and drypoint on ivory laid paper

Culture

Italy

Department

Prints and Drawings

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

A bizarre and brilliant artist, Salvator Rosa was also known as an eccentric and extraordinary personality in the Baroque era, a persona embodied in The Genius of Salvator Rosa . 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.

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