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Style of Salvator Rosa, 'Mountainous Landscape with Figures', after 17th century

About the work

Salvator Rosa’s dramatic late landscapes presented nature as wild and dangerous, and were filled with striking effects of broken light, jagged trees and remote signs of civilisation. This picture is thought to be by an imitator working in Rosa’s style during the late seventeenth century: it lacks the rich colouring and the variety and clarity of detail for which Rosa was celebrated in Rome during the 1650s and 1660s.

The figures in this picture appear to derive from Rosa’s The Crucifixion of Polycrates (The Art Institute of Chicago), painted around 1664, where a group is shown recoiling in horror on seeing Polycrates' withered and limp body. Here, something or someone just out of view to the right of the picture has caught their attention. High on the side of a rocky hill are more figures eager to take a look.

Key facts

Full title
Mountainous Landscape with Figures
Artist
Style of Salvator Rosa
Artist dates
1615 - 1673
Date made
after 17th century
Medium and support
oil on canvas
Dimensions
76.5 × 111.5 cm
Acquisition credit
Bequeathed by Mrs F.L. Ricketts, 1886
Inventory number
NG1206
Location
Not on display
Collection
Main Collection

About this record

If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.

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