SALVATOR ROSA
42 The Dream of Aeneas
Black and white chalk; H: 32.6 cm (nI3/i6 in.); W: 22.3
cm(8I3/i6in.)
83.03.197
MARKS AND INSCRIPTIONS: (Recto) at bottom right
corner, collection mark of H. C. Jennings (L. 2771); on
mount, at bottom left, inscribed Sal. Rosa in brown ink;
(verso) on mount, inscribed AW (L. 2O2[?]), 31 In (?) in
brown ink.
PROVENANCE: Sir Anthony Westcombe, Britain(?);
H. C. Jennings, Shiplake and London; Sir William
Forbes, Pitsligo; by descent (sale, Christie's, London,
April 12, 1983, lot 19).
EXHIBITIONS: None.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: None.M. JAFFE (CHRISTIE'S, 1983, LOT 19) WAS THE FIRST
to note that this drawing is a finished study for Rosa's
etching made circa 1663 (6.23 [277] v. 45,20). Aside from
the placement of the scene a bit further away from the
viewer, the etching repeats the drawing in all but the ex-
ecution of minor details. It is interesting to note that al-
though the drawing is highly developed, the sword of
Aeneas was initially rendered facing in the opposite di-
rection. This placement of the sword occurs in several
other drawings by Rosa and also in his painting of the
same subject in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New
York, which is generally taken to be later than the etch-
ing. This may indicate no more than that his ideas for
print and painting overlapped to a degree. A number of
further drawings relating to the etching and painting are
known.^1 The Museum's sheet is an unusual example by
Rosa of a large, complete compositional drawing in
chalk.i. M. Mahoney, The Drawings of Salvator Rosa (New York,
1977), nos. 74.1-7; Christie's, London, April 10, 1985, lot 60.106 ITALIAN SCHOOL • ROSA