Soldato con braccio destro alzato

Like Testa, Castiglione and Della Bella, Salvator Rosa considered the art of engraving the best technique to express his talent and, it is not by chance that he is considered, together with the already mentioned artists, one of the protagonists of Italian seventeenth-century art. Rosa was an extremely eclectic person; his main models in art were the classicism of Carracci, the naturalism of Ribera, the contemporary Roman painting and the ancient world. From the latter in particular, Rosa drew inspiration for his engravings, whose subjects come from the old Stoic philosophy, with the glorification of virtues though allegories. We have also to consider his passion for esotericism, which inspired him with pictorial compositions with necromancy. His technique and total command of etching enabled his prints to be appreciated even from his contemporaries, copied by them and highly requested by collectors.