Art Institute of Chicago

The Fall of the Giants

Salvator Rosa

Date

1663

Medium

Etching with drypoint in black on ivory laid paper

Culture

Italy

Department

Prints and Drawings

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

Just as the Giants—Gaia’s offspring—attempt to storm the throne of the Olympian gods, Jupiter brings them crashing down with a thunderbolt. He can be seen at the top in the clouds. Salvator Rosa executed this colossal composition at the pinnacle of his etching career, and dedicated it to the Florentine poet Horatio Quaranta. Rosa’s pessimistic admonition appears at the bottom of the sheet: “They are raised up high that they may be hurled down in more terrible ruin.” Multitalented with boundless energy, Rosa was also a poet, actor, musician, and painter. He made this print to promote his ideas for a painting of the same subject in hopes that a patron would sponsor its execution.

The authoritative record is held by Art Institute of Chicago. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.