Saint William of Maleval, hands tied with rope fastened to a tree

1661

Not on view

St. William was an immoral soldier who later took up a monastic life. He is depicted here doing penitence in a forested valley in a region of Siena known as Maleval. Rosa presents the saint as a solitary penitent figure tensely situated in an uncomfortable pose and quietly contemplating a cross. The loneliness of the figure is augmented by the jagged style in which the forest is rendered, especially through the extreme gradations of shading. The theme of the contemplative penitent is common in works by Rosa as also seen in the Metropolitan's Self-Portrait (21.105) where the artist represents himself as a scholarly penitent.

Artwork Details

Title: Saint William of Maleval, hands tied with rope fastened to a tree
Artist: Salvator Rosa (Italian, Arenella (Naples) 1615–1673 Rome)
Date: 1661
Medium: Etching and Drypoint
Dimensions: Sheet: 13 7/16 x 11 5/16 in. (34.2 x 28.8 cm)
Classification: Prints
Credit Line: Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1917
Object Number: 17.50.17-90
Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

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Three ox skulls, two horse skulls, and a grotesque head, study for "Democritus in Meditation", Salvator Rosa Italian, Etching and drypoint — Three ox skulls, two horse skulls, and a grotesque head, study for "Democritus in Meditation"
Salvator Rosa
1662

Three human skulls, study for "Democritus in Meditation", Salvator Rosa Italian, Etching — Three human skulls, study for "Democritus in Meditation"
Salvator Rosa
1662

Landscape with a figure seated on a rock, Salvator Rosa Italian, Etching — Landscape with a figure seated on a rock
Salvator Rosa
ca. 1640

Diogenes casting away his bowl

Salvator Rosa

ca. 1661–62

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