Similar stock images

Scenes of Witchcraft, c. 1645-1649. Salvator Rosa (Italian, 1615-1673). Oil on canvas; framed: 76.2 x 9.6 cm (30 x 3 3/4 in.); unframed: 54.5 cm (21 7/16 in

Scenes of Witchcraft, c. 1645-1649. A huge upturn in interest in witchcraft emerged during the 1500s in Europe, but by the middle of the next century—at least among the cultured elite of Florence—a backlash arose against the many accusations of sorcery. Artists and writers explored the topic more out of curiosity and amusement, chief among them the poet, painter, and satirist Salvator Rosa, who examined witchcraft with gusto in numerous poems and works of art, including these four paintings. They show a range witch types, from the beautiful enchantress to the old crone to the mal

Scenes of Witchcraft: Evening, c. 1645-1649. Salvator Rosa (Italian, 1615-1673). Oil on canvas; framed: 76.2 x 9.6 cm (30 x 3 3/4 in.); unframed: 54.5 cm (21 7/16 in

Scenes of Witchcraft: Morning, c. 1645-1649. Rosa's first scene depicts a young witch who plunges her knife into a writhing amphibian at dawn. The dark clouds of daybreak and anthropomorphic crags provide a gloomy atmosphere, while malevolent birds with piercing beaks hover around the central stabbing, focusing the viewer's attention on the witch's vicious act. The only beautiful enchantress Rosa ever painted, her elegance and ability to transform men into animals evokes the goddess Circe. But Rosa wasnt interested in classical imagery; he inverted expectations by transforming Circe into an ex

Scenes of Witchcraft: Day, c. 1645-1649. Salvator Rosa (Italian, 1615-1673). Oil on canvas; framed: 76.2 x 9.6 cm (30 x 3 3/4 in.); unframed: 54.5 cm (21 7/16 in

Scenes of Witchcraft Morning, c. 1645-1649. Salvator Rosa (Italian, 1615-1673)..jpg - 2B20AM0

Scenes of Witchcraft: Night, c. 1645-1649. In the pitch black of night, two groups of men are gathered in a forest. To the left, travelers apprehensively pause to watch a magician conjure terrifying apparitions. Since the Middle Ages, necromancy, the act of communing with the dead, was associated with male sorcerers. In Rosa's painting, the wizened necromancer who stands tall and resolute directly below a classical column is reminiscent of Moses, a predecessor to Renaissance depictions of sorcerers. Rosa's learned magicians not only invoke associations with philosophers and intellects, but the

Scenes of Witchcraft: Night, c. 1645-1649. Salvator Rosa (Italian, 1615-1673). Oil on canvas; framed: 76.2 x 9.6 cm (30 x 3 3/4 in.); unframed: 54.5 cm (21 7/16 in

Scenes of Witchcraft Evening, c. 1645-1649. Salvator Rosa (Italian, 1615-1673)..jpg - 2B20AKC

Scenes of Witchcraft: Evening, c. 1645-1649. At dusk, Rosa's hags gather around a cauldron. Above their incantations soars a conjured skeleton holding an hourglass symbolizing the brevity of life. In its left hand, the demonic creature holds a capital letter A from which extends a plumb line; as ancient signs of the moon and judgment, this strange combination of symbols embodies the nocturnal judgment the witches are doling out below. Though more rare in paint, the detailed portrayal of witches at their spells enjoyed a long literary tradition. The wax effigy alludes to classical literature

Scenes of Witchcraft: Morning, c. 1645-1649. Salvator Rosa (Italian, 1615-1673). Oil on canvas; framed: 76.2 x 9.6 cm (30 x 3 3/4 in.); unframed: 54.5 cm (21 7/16 in

Scenes of Witchcraft Day, c. 1645-1649. Salvator Rosa (Italian, 1615-1673)..jpg - 2B20ADY