Polycrates' Crucifixion
Salvator Rosa·1664
Historical Context
Salvator Rosa's Polycrates' Crucifixion (1664) is one of two paintings depicting the tragic fate of the tyrant of Samos from Herodotus. Polycrates, once the most powerful ruler in the Aegean, was lured to the Persian satrap Oroetes and crucified — a dramatic reversal of fortune that exemplified the instability of worldly power. Rosa, the Neapolitan-born painter who cultivated a persona of fierce independence and intellectual rebelliousness in Rome and Florence, was drawn to subjects of political tragedy and moral complexity. His treatment, painted in the dark years before his death, combines turbulent landscape and gesturing figures with a brooding atmosphere that places him stylistically between Baroque dynamism and Romantic expressionism.
Technical Analysis
Rosa's dramatic technique renders the grim scene with bold, energetic brushwork and a dark, atmospheric palette. The rocky landscape setting is characteristic of Rosa's wild, untamed scenery, while the figure of the crucified tyrant is painted with powerful, expressive handling. The dark tones and dramatic lighting create an atmosphere of horror and retribution.
Provenance
Bonaventura Argenti (died 1697), Rome; by descent to Argenti’s heirs, Rome 1697 to 1698 [“Due quardri da Quattro palmi in circa, con due Historie di Policrate cornice dorata di Salvator Rosa, Scudi “Two pictures, each about four palms across, with two histories of Policrates framed in gold by Salvator Rosa, 250 Scudi; Giuseppe Ghezzi, “Quadri delle case de Prencipi in Roma,” 1686–1717, MS. 93, Palazzo Braschi, Rome, c. 283; published by Meroni 1978, p. 89 and de Marchi 1987, pp. 384, 392–93]; consigned for sale to Giuseppe Ghezzi, Rome, about 1698 [see Ghezzi 1686–1717 cited above]. Probably 2nd Earl of Warwick, (Warwick Castle) by 1801 [auction of June 1, 1801 at Christie’s, bought in, see Fredericksen and Zeri 1972]. Schaeffer Galleries, New York, 1942 [see New York 1942, no. 30]. A. F. Mondschein, New York by 1942; sold to the Art Institute, 1942.
