Salvator Rosa (1615–1673) was a flamboyant and rebellious Italian Baroque painter, poet, and printmaker, best known for his “sublime” landscapes and unorthodox personality. He is often described as a “perpetual rebel” and a proto-Romantic figure, anticipating the Romantic movement’s obsession with the terrifying beauty of nature by nearly two centuries.
Born in Naples, Rosa studied under his uncle and brother-in-law before falling under the influence of Jusepe de Ribera. Unlike his contemporaries, such as Claude Lorrain and Nicolas Poussin, who painted serene, pastoral landscapes, Rosa painted wild, rugged scenes: jagged cliffs, storm-ravaged trees, bandits, and witchcraft. His motto was “Silence, unless your speech be better than silence.”
Rosa spent his career moving between Naples, Rome, and Florence. In Florence (1640–1649), he founded the Accademia dei Percossi (“Academy of the Stricken”), a gathering of writers and artists where he indulged in his other passions: acting and satire. He famously refused to paint on commission or agree on a price beforehand, insisting on painting only what he wanted, when he wanted—a radical stance for an artist of his time.
His subject matter was as volatile as his temper. Beyond landscapes, he painted dark, philosophical allegories, gruesome battle scenes, and macabre depictions of witchcraft (e.g., Witches at their Incantations). Legends—likely exaggerated by the artist himself—claim he once lived with bandits in the mountains of Abruzzi and participated in the revolt of Masaniello against Spanish rule in Naples.
Rosa’s work had a profound influence on the later Romantic painters of the 18th and 19th centuries, particularly J.M.W. Turner and James Barry, who admired his ability to evoke awe and terror through the power of nature.
Active in others filds : Satirical Poetry (wrote famously scathing Satires), Acting (Commedia dell’arte), Printmaking (Etching), Music.
