Glaucus and Scylla
1615-1673
Medium
etching
Dimensions
overall: 34.3 x 23.2 cm (13 1/2 x 9 1/8 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund
Accession Number
1972.66.41
Art Historical Context
Step into the dramatic world of Salvator Rosa's *Glaucus and Scylla*, a captivating etching from the mid-17th century. The Italian artist (1615–1673), a key figure in the Baroque period, draws from classical mythology: Glaucus, a mortal fisherman transformed into a sea god, desperately pursues the beautiful nymph Scylla, whose fate would later turn tragic through sorcery. Rosa's composition pulses with raw emotion and movement, embodying his signature "wild" style—often called proto-Romantic for its rugged energy and departure from the polished classicism of his peers. As a master etcher, Ros...
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...