Monks Fishing by Follower of Salvator Rosa

Here, an unknown artist has rotated the traditionally horizontal landscape format, by ninety degrees. Within the constraints of this narrow, vertical picture plane, a blasted tree directs attention upwards, following the thrust of the scarred trunk beyond the painting’s edge. The branches are silhouetted against a dramatic sky, where birds wheel in advance of billowing storm clouds, heavy as smoke. Below, a tranquil river flows towards two monks, peacefully fishing on the bank. The monks are simply painted; the warm flesh tones of their shaven heads, exposed hands and bare feet enough to identify them among the shadows. Elsewhere, the paint is applied rapidly, giving the landscape a lively, airy quality and allowing the coarse weave of the canvas to show through at points.

As a follower of the Italian Baroque painter Salvator Rosa (1615-73), the unknown creator of this painting had a deep understanding of Rosa’s signature style. A master of dramatic scenes with turbulent skies and brooding landscapes, Rosa was sometimes known as ‘Savage Rosa’, due to his artistic inclination towards depictions of violence and threat. More commonly his landscapes were peopled with soldiers, witches and bandits, which makes the monks in this scene an unusual choice. The author of this work may have been inspired by a larger scene by Rosa, cropping it to a portrait format to create a unique viewpoint that still pays homage to Rosa and captures the essence of his preoccupation with wild nature and the insignificance of man.