Soldiers Gambling

Salvator Rosa worked in Rome at the same time as Poussin and Claude but rejected the ideal beauty which they, in their different ways, both pursued. Nature, in Rosa's landscapes, is barren and hostile, peopled not with gods or Arcadian shepherds, but witches, soldiers and brigands. This outdoor scene is typical: set at night, the sky threatens and one senses that the stakes may be high. The aloof figure of the standing soldier, strongly lit in contrast to the general gloom of the scene, adds to the mood of unease. The standing soldier repeats in reverse a figure in one of Rosa's etchings from the series known as the "Figurine", and the composition compares with other etchings from the same series. DPG216 probably dates from the period of the first "Figurine" or shortly afterwards (i.e. 1656-8). "Savage Rosa" was immensely popular in eighteenth century England; he became something of a hero to the Romantics because of his wild imagery and his rebellious character. Ruskin, in the nineteenth century, said that Rosa's art was infected by the "dragon breath" of evil.