The Genius of Salvator Rosa

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The Genius of Salvator Rosa

Artist Salvator Rosa (Italian, 1615-1673)

Dateabout 1650

Dimensions18 × 10 3/4 in. (45.7 × 27.3 cm)

Mediumengraving

ClassificationPrints

Credit LineGift of Irving E. Macomber

Object number

1913.346

Not on View

Label TextThis print has been taken as an allegorical portrait of Salvator Rosa himself. A figure of a young man, representing Rosa’s Genius (attendant spirit or divine nature), sits, reclining, against the legs of a woman. A cornucopia of coins spills out behind him. In an idyllic wooded setting, with a sarcophagus in the background, he ignores the wealth of gold and silver and offers his heart to Sincerity. A wizened old man, Stoicism, stands before him holding a Roman balance. On the left, a female satyr representing Satire holds a rolled paper while pointing towards the sage holding the balance. The figure of Painting appears holding a canvas in the foreground, while Liberty, the figure against whom the young man leans, presents her cap. Translated from the Latin, the inscription at the bottom right reads: “Sincere, free, fiery painter, yet equable, despiser of wealth and death, this is my genius. Salvator Rosa.”Exhibition HistoryTMA The Painter Was a Printmaker: June 23 - Sept. 9, 1984. TMA, The Dramatic Image: Baroque Prints of the 17th Century, February 25 - July 31, 2011.