Artwork
Scenes of Witchcraft: Night
Scenes of Witchcraft: Night is an oil painting by the Early Baroque Italian artist Salvator Rosa. It dates from 1640 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
About this work
Technique & Style
The painting is executed in oil on canvas, a technique characteristic of Salvator Rosa's 17th-century practice.
The painting is executed in oil on canvas, a technique characteristic of Salvator Rosa's 17th-century practice. Its composition depicts a nocturnal witchcraft scene with dramatic chiaroscuro and expressive brushwork, reflecting the artist's fascination with the macabre and supernatural. The work shows visible handling marks and surface craquelure consistent with its age and medium, though no major structural or conservation concerns are noted in the available records.
Formal stylistic analysis reveals Rosa's signature gestural handling of paint and stark lighting contrasts that heighten the supernatural tension of the witchcraft narrative.
History & Provenance
Scenes of Witchcraft: Night is an oil on canvas painting by Salvator Rosa, created in 1640 in Italy. It entered the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art, where it remains on view.
The work was first recorded in Rosa's oeuvre in 1640 and has been part of the museum's holdings since acquiring it from a private collection.
The painting is held at the Cleveland Museum of Art, where it is recorded under accession number 1977.37.4.
It has been exhibited in the museum’s galleries since its acquisition, including in the 2018 reinstallation of European paintings that highlighted seventeenth-century Italian works.
Overview
Created in 1640, Scenes of Witchcraft: Night is an oil painting by Italian Baroque artist Salvator Rosa. The work portrays a tumultuous nocturnal landscape populated by several figures engaged in enigmatic actions. Its composition is dominated by deep shadows punctuated by illuminated faces and objects, producing a stark visual tension that typifies Rosa’s dramatic approach to narrative scenes.
Subject & Meaning
The canvas depicts a chaotic gathering under a night sky: a woman in red gestures toward a horse, a crouching figure tends a small fire, and a hooded presence looms on a rock. The arrangement suggests a ritual or occult episode, with each participant absorbed in a mysterious activity that evokes themes of superstition and the supernatural prevalent in 17th‑century folklore.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Salvator Rosa (1615 – 15 March 1673) is best known today as an Italian Baroque painter, whose romanticised landscapes and history paintings, often set in dark and untamed nature, exerted considerable influence from the 17th century into…
- Scenes of Witchcraft: Night
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