Rosa, Salvator [key], 1615–73, Italian baroque painter, etcher, and poet of the Neapolitan school. In 1635, Rosa went to Rome, where he established his reputation with his painting Prometheus (Corsini Palace, Rome). He satirized the great Roman sculptor and architect G. L. Bernini and moved to Florence in 1640 to avoid Bernini's wrath and to work for the Medici family, painting, writing poems and satires, composing music, and acting. He returned permanently to Rome in 1649. Rosa is best known for his spirited battle pieces painted in the style of Falcone, for his marines, and especially for his landscapes. His large historical works are considered less successful. His landscapes are usually desolate scenes, painted in a tempestuous manner. His works are in many major European museums; a self-portrait is in the Metropolitan Museum. He began etching in 1660 and produced over 100 fine plates. Several of his satiric poems are well known.
See E. W. Manwaring, Italian Landscape (1925, repr. 1965).
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