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Salvator Rosa<br />
Naples 1615 – Rome 1673<br />
18<br />
Philosophes discutant dans un paysage<br />
Plume et encre brune, lavis brun. C<strong>on</strong>trecollé <str<strong>on</strong>g>sur</str<strong>on</strong>g> un m<strong>on</strong>tage ancien.<br />
M<strong>on</strong>ogramme SR en bas à gauche.<br />
370 x 270 mm (14 5 /8 x 10 5 /8 in.)<br />
Ce grand <strong>de</strong>ssin, impeccablement c<strong>on</strong>servé, signé<br />
par le m<strong>on</strong>ogramme <strong>de</strong> l’artiste, représente avec<br />
soin un groupe <strong>de</strong> pers<strong>on</strong>nages masculins, discutant<br />
avec animati<strong>on</strong> dans un paysage. Il s’agit d’un<br />
sujet qui s’inscrit dans les représentati<strong>on</strong>s <strong>de</strong> philosophes<br />
exécutées par Salvator Rosa en peinture et<br />
en gravure. Un <strong>de</strong>ssin à la compositi<strong>on</strong> semblable<br />
est signalé dans les collecti<strong>on</strong>s <strong>de</strong> l’Acca<strong>de</strong>mia Nazi<strong>on</strong>ale<br />
di San <strong>Luc</strong>a par Leandro Ozzola dès 1908 1 ,<br />
ainsi que par Michael Mah<strong>on</strong>ey 2 qui remarque qu’il<br />
n’était cependant plus localisable à l’époque <strong>de</strong> s<strong>on</strong><br />
travail d’inventaire. Le sujet exact <strong>de</strong> la compositi<strong>on</strong><br />
reste inc<strong>on</strong>nu, peut-être une discussi<strong>on</strong> <strong>de</strong> philosophes<br />
autour <strong>de</strong> la matière, l’un m<strong>on</strong>trant le sol,<br />
l’autre les <strong>de</strong>ux mains comme suspendues en l’air.<br />
Mais ces gestes <strong>de</strong> désignati<strong>on</strong>, hermétiques au<br />
spectateur, s<strong>on</strong>t nombreux dans l’oeuvre <strong>de</strong> Rosa,<br />
d<strong>on</strong>t les soldats comme les brigands m<strong>on</strong>trent à tour<br />
<strong>de</strong> rôle du doigt <strong>de</strong>s objets invisibles et inc<strong>on</strong>nus.<br />
Par s<strong>on</strong> thème, l’oeuvre rappelle bien sûr le célèbre<br />
Bois <strong>de</strong>s philosophes (Florence, palais Pitti) ou encore<br />
une Discussi<strong>on</strong> entre les philosophes <strong>de</strong> l’Académie<br />
<strong>de</strong> Plat<strong>on</strong> (Urbin, Palais ducal) et par sa compositi<strong>on</strong>,<br />
elle se rapproche <strong>de</strong> L’Académie <strong>de</strong> Plat<strong>on</strong><br />
gravée par Rosa à l’eau-forte et à la pointe-sêche.<br />
Sel<strong>on</strong> Michael Mah<strong>on</strong>ey 3 , la taille <strong>de</strong> cette œuvre,<br />
qu’il a qualifiée d’« excepti<strong>on</strong>nelle », et la signature<br />
par le m<strong>on</strong>ogramme SR, que l’<strong>on</strong> trouve principalement<br />
<str<strong>on</strong>g>sur</str<strong>on</strong>g> ses gravures mais aussi <str<strong>on</strong>g>sur</str<strong>on</strong>g> certaines <strong>de</strong> ses<br />
peintures, laissent penser qu’il pourrait s’agir d’un<br />
projet <strong>de</strong> présentati<strong>on</strong>. S’il ne semble pas qu’un<br />
tel projet ait abouti ni en gravure ni en peinture,<br />
il parait en tout cas certain, étant d<strong>on</strong>né s<strong>on</strong> <strong>de</strong>gré<br />
<strong>de</strong> finiti<strong>on</strong>, que l’artiste en a fait une œuvre en soi,<br />
<strong>de</strong>stinée à être présentée puis peut-être d<strong>on</strong>née ou<br />
vendue.<br />
La corresp<strong>on</strong>dance <strong>de</strong> Salvator Rosa nous apprend<br />
que l’artiste d<strong>on</strong>nait facilement <strong>de</strong>s estampes, <strong>de</strong>s<br />
tableaux ou <strong>de</strong>s <strong>de</strong>ssins à ses amis proches, Giulio<br />
Maffei ou Giovanni Battista Ricciardi par exemple.<br />
Baldinucci évoque d’ailleurs sa générosité et les<br />
oeuvres qu’il d<strong>on</strong>nait, littéralement, en échange<br />
This large sheet, impeccably preserved, signed and<br />
m<strong>on</strong>ogrammed by the artist, shows a meticulously<br />
drawn group of male figures seated in a landscape<br />
and engaged in a lively discussi<strong>on</strong>. This theme fits<br />
in with similar <strong>de</strong>picti<strong>on</strong>s of philosophers created<br />
by Salvator Rosa in painting and printmaking. A<br />
drawing with similar compositi<strong>on</strong> was menti<strong>on</strong>ed<br />
by Leandro Ozzola as bel<strong>on</strong>ging to the collecti<strong>on</strong> of<br />
the Acca<strong>de</strong>mia Nazi<strong>on</strong>ale di San <strong>Luc</strong>a in 1908 1 and<br />
later cited by Michael Mah<strong>on</strong>ey 2 , who, however,<br />
stated that it could not be located at the time of<br />
his inventory. The exact subject of the compositi<strong>on</strong><br />
remains unclear, perhaps it is a c<strong>on</strong>versati<strong>on</strong><br />
over substance, with <strong>on</strong>e philosopher pointing<br />
at the ground and another having both his hands<br />
suspen<strong>de</strong>d in the air. These pointing gestures,<br />
un<strong>de</strong>cipherable for the viewer, can often be seen in<br />
Rosa’s works, in which soldiers and brigands all take<br />
turns in pointing at invisible and unknown objects.<br />
By its subject, the work obviously reminds of the<br />
famous Philosphers’ Grove (Florence, Palazzo Pitti)<br />
and the Discussi<strong>on</strong> of Philosophers at the Aca<strong>de</strong>my<br />
of Plato (Urbino, Palazzo Ducale), while its<br />
compositi<strong>on</strong> is similar to The Aca<strong>de</strong>my of Plato that<br />
Rosa engraved in etching and drypoint. According<br />
to Michael Mah<strong>on</strong>ey 3 , the size of this “outstanding<br />
work” and the signature m<strong>on</strong>ogram SR, usually<br />
found in the Rosa’s prints but also in some pictures,<br />
both suggest that this may have been a presentati<strong>on</strong><br />
drawing. Although no resulting print or picture is<br />
known, it seems certain that, c<strong>on</strong>si<strong>de</strong>ring the <strong>de</strong>gree<br />
of its finish, this sheet was ma<strong>de</strong> as a separate work<br />
inten<strong>de</strong>d to be presented and probably offered or<br />
sold.<br />
We learn from Salvator Rosa’s corresp<strong>on</strong><strong>de</strong>nce that<br />
he often gave his prints, pictures or drawings to his<br />
close friends, such as, for example, Giulio Maffei<br />
or Giovanni Battista Ricciardi. Baldinucci also<br />
wrote about his generosity and the works he gave,<br />
literally, in exchange for a few figs, his favorite fruit.<br />
Rosa regularly sent his Florentine friend Ricciardi<br />
his drawings, <strong>de</strong>corati<strong>on</strong> projects for theaters,<br />
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