St. Paul, Hermit

Salvator Rosa

1615–73 · Pen and brown and black ink, brown wash, over black chalk, corrected and highlighted with gray gouache · Drawings and Prints

A poet, painter, printmaker, and actor, Rosa was a fascinating, if irascible, figure in early modern Italy, and a prolific, expressive draftsman. This drawing is possibly a study for his painting of Saint Paul in the wilderness, originally commissioned for the church of Santa Maria della Vittoria, in Milan. The intensity of the saint’s devotion, with his arms and gaze turned heavenward, is matched by the agitated landscape and the whirling energy of Rosa’s frenetic and impassioned strokes.

Artist

Salvator Rosa

Date

1615–73

Medium

Pen and brown and black ink, brown wash, over black chalk, corrected and highlighted with gray gouache

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Harry G. Sperling Fund, 1976