Workshop of Salvator Rosa (Naples, 1615 – Rome, 1673), The Stop

Workshop of Salvator Rosa (Naples, 1615 – Rome, 1673)

The stop

Oil on canvas, 43 x 34 cm

With frame 56,5 x 47,5 cm

Salvator Rosa was a prolific Baroque painter, he studied in Naples with Fracanzano, Ribera and Falcone, painting mainly battles, landscapes and genre scenes (Salvator Rosa, Battaglia, Galleria Palazzo Pitti, Florence, 96 x 146 cm). In 1635 he moved to Rome, protected by Cardinal Brancacci, where he met the bamboccianti and the work of Peter van Laer and Cerquozzi, as demonstrated by some of his paintings. A classicist change in his style dates back to the years 1639-1640, due to the influence of Claudde Lorrain, Nicolas Poussin and Pietro Testa, evident in the conception of the landscape, which however is compatible with the artist's own sensitivity for the rendering of picturesque aspects of nature (Salvator Rosa, Painting, Palazzo Ducale di Sassuolo, 143,5 x 176 cm). The lively artist was nicknamed 'Savior of battles' for the numerous pictorial representations of grandiose and scenic battles but he also painted, during his stay in Florence, works with an esoteric and magical tone such as Witches and Spells (1646, National Gallery) and with allegorical and philosophical. His fame is linked above all to the representation of landscapes, characterized by a harsh and wild nature and to the predilection for dark tones and luminous contrasts, as can be clearly seen from this canvas, the work of a pupil close to the master. Similarities can be found in the detailed and luminous rendering of nature, as in Landscape with Figures (Colnaghi). The dark and mysterious atmospheres, resulting from the colors used, represent a characteristic element of Salvator Rosa's painting and his workshop. The Neapolitan was also very active in Florence and Rome, where he was also appreciated as an engraver. Some of his works that went up for auction have reached important prices, such as the Forest Landscape (Finarte, 10.11.2015) and Two Fishermen in a Rocky Landscape (Dorotheum, 25.04.2017)