The Crucifixion of Polycrates

c. 1662

Salvator Rosa
Italian, 1615-1673

Salvator Rosa was an important printmaker as well as an admired painter. The artist’s oversize etching of the Greek Polycrates’ crucifixion by his Persian enemy (c. 522 b.c.) probably preceded his painting of the same subject. Rosa’s slightly simplified painting appears in reverse, likely because he worked from the print’s preparatory cartoon to create it. The legend beneath the print reads: “Polycrates, tyrant of Samos, famous for his wealth and good fortune, when he was captured by Oretes, Satrap of the Persians, and fastened on a cross, showed that no man can be truly called happy until he is dead.”

Status: On View, Gallery 209
Department: Prints and Drawings

Artist: Salvator Rosa
Title: The Crucifixion of Polycrates
Place: Italy (Artist's nationality:)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: 1557–1667
Medium: Etching, with drypoint, in black on ivory laid paper
Dimensions: Plate: 47 × 72.8 cm (18 9/16 × 28 11/16 in.); Sheet: 52.6 × 77 cm (20 3/4 × 30 3/8 in.)
Credit Line: John H. Wrenn Memorial Endowment
Reference Number: 1973.444
IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.: https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/45205/manifest.json

Wallace 111 II?/II

Bartsch 10

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.