Death of Atilius Regulus
1662
Medium
Etching with drypoint on thick ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Plate: 46.2 × 72.6 cm (18 1/4 × 28 5/8 in.); Sheet: 52.7 × 76.3 cm (20 3/4 × 30 1/16 in.)
Classification
etching
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
45208
Rights
Public Domain
Art Historical Context
Salvator Rosa’s “Death of Atilius Regulus,” created in 1662, captures a dramatic moment from Roman history through the expressive medium of etching with drypoint. The print depicts the legendary consul Marcus Atilius Regulus enduring torture at the hands of his Carthaginian captors, a tale long celebrated for its themes of honor, sacrifice, and stoic resolve. Rosa, a 17th-century Italian artist known for his theatrical compositions and moral intensity, used this large-scale etching—measuring over 18 by 28 inches in the plate—to bring the scene vividly to life for a wide audience. Etching allo...
About the Artist
Salvator Rosa · 1615–1673
Salvator Rosa was born in 1615 in Arenella, on the outskirts of Naples, into a world of artistic ambition and turbulent talent. His early training came through his maternal uncle, the painter Paolo Greco, and his brother-in-law Francesco Fracanzano, himself a pupil of the great Spanish-born Neapolitan master Jusepe de Ribera. Rosa showed a fierce independence from the start, resisting his father's...