The Crucifixion of Polycrates
<p>Salvator Rosa was an important printmaker as well as an admired painter. The artist’s oversize etching of the Greek Polycrates’ crucifixion by his Persian enemy (c. 522 b.c.) probably preceded his <a href="https://www.artic.edu/artworks/44829">painting</a> of the same subject. Rosa’s slightly simplified painting appears in reverse, likely because he 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 on a cross, showed that no man can be truly called happy until he is dead.”</p>
Catalogue
- Year
- 1557
- Dimensions
- Plate: 47 × 72.8 cm (18 9/16 × 28 11/16 in.); Sheet: 52.6 × 77 cm (20 3/4 × 30 3/8 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.
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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
- 1557
- Dimensions
- Plate: 47 × 72.8 cm (18 9/16 × 28 11/16 in.); Sheet: 52.6 × 77 cm (20 3/4 × 30 3/8 in.)
- Watts ID
- WW-1557-119543
Source
- Collection
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Source
- aic
- Reference
- View at source
- Status
- verified