Public collection via the Cleveland Museum of Art
AT-00009156Scenes of Witchcraft: Evening
Also known as: Scene with Witches: Evening; Witches Scenes
About the Artwork
At dusk, Rosa's hags gather around a cauldron. Above their incantations soars a conjured skeleton holding an hourglass symbolizing the brevity of life. In its left hand, the demonic creature holds a capital letter A from which extends a plumb line; as ancient signs of the moon and judgment, this strange combination of symbols embodies the nocturnal judgment the witches are doling out below. Though more rare in paint, the detailed portrayal of witches at their spells enjoyed a long literary tradition. The wax effigy alludes to classical literature by Virgil and Horace that described love magic. Poets in the 1500s and 1600s continued the tradition, writing verse about witches concocting potions and performing love spells. In Rosa's own poem "La Strega (The Witch)," the jilted Phyllis vows to take revenge on her feeble lover, listing the ingredients for her black magic: "ground powders, mystic gems, snakes and owls, stinking blood. . . ." Painting was considered "mute poetry" in the 1600s, and Rosa often explored the same themes in his written and painted art—a clever way to gain fame as a unique intellect.
Inscriptions
Signed: "SR [monogram]"
Provenance
Family of the Marchese Giovanni Niccolini, Florence; [Heim Gallery, London]. Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund, 1977.
Exhibition history
The Night. Haus der Kunst, Munich (organizer) (November 1, 1998-February 17, 1999). Salvator Rosa (1615-1673): Bandits, Wilderness, and Magic. Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, TX (organizer) (December 12, 2010-March 27, 2011). The Novel and the Bizarre: Salvator Rosa’s Scenes of Witchcraft. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 15-June 14, 2015).
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Salvator Rosa (Italian, 1615–1673)
- Date
- c. 1645–49
- Medium
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- Framed: 76.2 x 9.6 cm (30 x 3 3/4 in.); Unframed: 54.5 cm (21 7/16 in.)
- Type
- Painting
- Classification
- Painting
- Department
- European Painting and Sculpture
- Credit line
- Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
- Accession no.
- 1977.37.3
More by Salvator Rosa in museum collections
Open-access museum record · AT-00009156
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