id:			167139
accession number:	2009.154
share license status:	CC0
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/2009.154
updated:		2023-08-24 00:32:58.134000

Sheet of Satirical Studies (Amorini Riding Phalli), c. 1650s. Salvator Rosa (Italian, 1615–1673). Pen and brown ink, wash, and red chalk
; sheet: 14 x 36.7 cm (5 1/2 x 14 7/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Joseph F. McCrindle 2009.154

title:				Sheet of Satirical Studies (Amorini Riding Phalli)
title in original language:	
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			c. 1650s
creation date earliest:		1645
creation date latest:		1665
current location:		
creditline:			Gift of Joseph F. McCrindle
copyright:			

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culture:	Italy, 17th century
technique:	Pen and brown ink, wash, and red chalk

department:	Drawings
collection:	DR - Italian
type:		Drawing
find spot:	
catalogue raisonne: 

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CREATORS

* Salvator Rosa (Italian, 1615–1673)  - artist

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measurements: Sheet: 14 x 36.7 cm (5 1/2 x 14 7/16 in.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:


inscriptions:

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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

	title:		The Novel and the Bizarre: Salvator Rosa's Scenes of Witchcraft
	opening date:   2015-02-15T00:00:00
	<i>The Novel and the Bizarre: Salvator Rosa's Scenes of Witchcraft</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 15-June 14, 2015).

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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

* The Cleveland Museum of Art (2/15/2015 - 6/14/2015); "The Novel and the Bizarre: Salvator Rosa's Scenes of Witchcraft"

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PROVENANCE

	Ex collections: Earl Spencer (Lugt 1530); [Herbert Bier, London].
	date: 
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	Aware of the Cleveland Museum of Art's fine collection of Italian and French drawings, Joseph McCrindle has given five sheets, five Italian and one French, to the CMA. Please see no. 1 for ex collections.
	date: 
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


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fun fact:


digital description:


wall description:
This outrageous and comical sheet stands out as one of the few existing examples of Rosa's representation of bawdy material. While Rosa was not interested in lewd imagery for vulgarity's sake, he certainly enjoyed intellectual jokes that advertised his erudite knowledge. The grotesque face at the right, and the cupids that ride the almost-elephantine phalli at center reference Classical and Renaissance motifs. Heads composed of objects-particularly the famous Testa di Cazzi ("head of penises")-were frequently used as decoration on Renaissance maiolica ceramics. This kind of imagery- like the museum's witchcraft paintings-would have been understood by 17th-century audiences as more than just grotesquerie. The exaggerated and lampooning qualities of this drawing both reference and parody these famous artistic traditions, showing how Rosa frequently used satirical humor to establish his identity as a sharp and sophisticated artist.
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RELATED WORKS

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CITATIONS

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IMAGES

web:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2009.154/2009.154_web.jpg
print:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2009.154/2009.154_print.jpg
full:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2009.154/2009.154_full.tif