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| Salvator Rosa Fall of the Giants 1663 etching 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."
– curator's notes from the Art Institute of Chicago
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| Salvator Rosa Polycrates' Crucifixion ca. 1662 etching Art Institute of Chicago |
"Rosa's oversize etching of the Greek Polycrates' crucifixion by his Persian enemy (ca. 522 BC) probably preceded his painting of the same subject. The slightly simplified painting appears in reverse, likely because the artist worked from the print's preparatory cartoon to create it. The legend beneath the print reads: Polycrates, tyrant of Samos, famous for his wealth and good fortune, when he was captured by Oretes, Satrap of the Persians, and fastened to a cross, showed that no man can be truly called happy until he is dead."
– curator's notes from the Art Institute of Chicago
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| Salvator Rosa Sheet of Satirical Studies (Amorini riding Phalli) ca. 1650-60 drawing Cleveland Museum of Art (Ohio) |
"This outrageous and comical sheet stands out as one of the few existing examples of Rosa's representation of bawdy material. While Rosa was not interested in lewd imagery for vulgarity's sake, he certainly enjoyed intellectual jokes that advertised his erudite knowledge. The grotesque face at the right, and the cupids that ride the almost-elephantine phalli at center reference Classical and Renaissance motifs. Heads composed of objects – particularly the famous Testa di Cazzi ("head of penises") – were frequently used as decoration on Renaissance maiolica ceramics. This kind of imagery, like the artist's witchcraft paintings, would have been understood by 17th-century audiences as more than just grotesquerie. The exaggerated and lampooning qualities of this drawing both reference and parody these famous artistic traditions, showing how Rosa frequently used satirical humor to establish his identity as a sharp and sophisticated artist."
– curator's notes from the Cleveland Museum of Art
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| Salvator Rosa Sleeping Boy (study in foreshortening) before 1673 drawing Minneapolis Institute of Art |
Provenance of Salvator Rosa's Sleeping Boy – Queen Christina of Sweden (1626-1689), Rome; Cardinal Decio Azzolino (1623-1689), Rome; Prince Livio Odescalchi (1652-1713), Rome. Beardmore Collection. Sale, Christie's, London, July 6, 1976, no. 86, for £190 to Alfred Moir (d. 2010), Santa Barbara, California. Bequeathed by Alfred Moir to the Minneapolis Institute of Art.
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| attributed to Salvator Rosa Sketches of Turbaned Men before 1673 drawing Art Institute of Chicago |
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| Salvator Rosa Oriental Figure with Two Women approaching ca. 1656-57 etching Minneapolis Institute of Art |
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| Salvator Rosa Piping Satyr ca. 1656 etching Minneapolis Institute of Art |
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| Salvator Rosa Three Soldiers Resting ca. 1656-57 drawing Art Institute of Chicago |
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| Salvator Rosa Three Soldiers in Conversation ca. 1656-57 etching Minneapolis Institute of Art |
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| Salvator Rosa Seated Soldier before 1673 etching Yale University Art Gallery |
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| Salvator Rosa Soldier with shield and staff turned toward two others before 1673 etching Art Institute of Chicago |
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| Salvator Rosa Dream of Aeneas ca. 1663-64 etching Minneapolis Institute of Art |
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| attributed to Salvator Rosa Classical Figures before 1673 drawing Yale University Art Gallery |
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| Salvator Rosa St Albert in Penitence (based on an antique statue of Marsyas) ca. 1662-63 etching Minneapolis Institute of Art |
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| Salvator Rosa Figures by a Rocky Pool ca. 1660-70 drawing Cleveland Museum of Art (Ohio) |