Salvator Rosa
Medium
etching
Dimensions
plate: 30 × 20.2 cm (11 13/16 × 7 15/16 in.) sheet: 41.8 × 29.4 cm (16 7/16 × 11 9/16 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Andrew W. Mellon Fund
Accession Number
1978.51.11
Art Historical Context
This etching by British artist John Hamilton Mortimer, created in 1778, portrays the celebrated 17th-century Italian painter Salvator Rosa. As a print classified simply as an etching, the work highlights the medium’s ability to capture fine linear details and expressive contrasts through the controlled use of acid on a metal plate, a technique widely used in the 18th century to reproduce and share images of important cultural figures. Mortimer’s choice of subject reflects the period’s fascination with earlier masters whose dramatic and imaginative approaches influenced later generations. Prod...
About the Artist
John Hamilton Mortimer · 1740–1779
Comment on works: History; Portraits; Genre