May 2005 Fine Art & Antiques
Lot 108. "Démocrite en Méditation". Etching on rag paper, probably pulled toward the end of the 17th Century, ca. 1662, plate impression apprx. 18" x 10-7/8". Rosa was an Italian baroque painter, etcher, and poet of the Neapolitan school. In 1635 he went to Rome where he established his reputation with his painting "Prometheus" (Corsini Palace, Rome). He satirized the great Roman sculptor and architect Giovanni L. Bernini and moved to Florence in 1640 to avoid Berninis wrath and to work for the Medici family; painting, writing poems and satires, composing music, and acting. His works are in many major European museums; a self-portrait is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Offered in a French mat and period frame, overall apprx 25-1/2" x 17".
500.00/1000.00 Sold $373.75