Salvator Rosa

Window mounted, within brown framing lines. Slight thinning of the papers in a few places. The pen and ink from the verso is slightly visible at the level of the tree and at the top of the sheet and vice versa to the right of the verso. Some foxing and staining scattered around especially at the top of the sheet. The paper is slightly buckled. On the verso traces of previous hinging to the left top side of the sheet. Overall on the recto and verso the pen and ink is quite strong. Sold unframed.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Typical of Rosa's quick and vibrant use of pen and ink, this beautiful double-sided sheet has, on the recto, a previously unknown study related to the Raising of Lazarus,¹one of the five thematically related Biblical stories painted by Rosa for his friend Carlo de' Rossi.  The artist conceived this project in 1659, and returned to it in 1662, motivated by a desire to promote his religious work by displaying it in a Roman church.  At that time Rosa's fame rested largely on the popularity of his landscape paintings, which were highly prized by private collectors, and much less on his historic and religious works.  He therefore conceived the decoration of an entire chapel to include a group of five paintings, which he executed for Carlo de' Rossi free of charge.  The series was displayed only in 1679, after Rosa's death, in the church of Santa Maria in Montesanto, in Piazza del Popolo, in the private chapel bought by de' Rossi.

The stories depicted were The Raising of Lazarus and its pendant The Angel leaving the House of Tobit, Daniel in the Lion's Den and Jeremiah, and over the high altar The Resurrection of Christ, which is now lost.  The four remaining canvases are in the Musée Condé, Chantilly.  Michael Mahoney has suggested that in view of the programmatic unity of the paintings they were surely executed at the same time, in the early 1660s.  Several studies have previously been related to The Raising of Lazarus ² although only three are complete studies: the present lot, one in the Odescalchi collection, Rome, and a more elaborate one in the Gray collection, Chicago.³  It is, however, very likely that the Odescalchi and Gray drawings are in fact for a painting with a different subject, as their central focus seems to be a Dominican saint rather than Christ.⁴   

The present sheet is, in contrast, closely related to the final painting at Chantilly, especially in the position of the main figures: the standing Christ, the kneeling female figure to the left, and the man lifting the body of Lazarus.  The verso, also previously unrecorded, is a preparatory study for a soldier who appears to the left of A Cavalry Battle, formerly in the collection of Agostino Chigi, and now in Cleveland (fig.1).⁵  Therefore both The Raising of Lazarus and A Cavalry Battle must have been conceived around the same time.  The painting in Cleveland is generally thought to date from around 1658, but it may actually be slightly later.

1.  L. Salerno, Salvator Rosa, Milan 1963, p. 132, no. 71, reproduced fig. 71

2.  M. Mahoney, The Drawings of Salvator Rosa, 1977, vol. I, p. 580- 84, nos. 66.4- 66.12, reproduced vol. II, nos. 66.4-66.12

3.  Ibid., vol. I, p. 580, no. 66.4, reproduced  vol. II, no. 66.4; Gray Collection Seven Centuries of Art, exhib. cat., Chicago, The Art Institute of Chicago, 2010, p. 53, no. 27, reproduced

4.  We are grateful to Nando Peretti for informing us of the existence of an unpublished bozzetto by Rosa, in a private collection, which also appears to be related to this unidentified composition

5.  L. Salerno, op. cit., p. 126, no. 50, reproduced fig. 50