Study for Polycrates’ Crucifixion

A painter, draftsman, and printmaker, as well as a satirical poet and actor, Salvator Rosa was one of the most idiosyncratic Roman artists of the 17th century. This rare subject, related to both a painting and a large etching in the Art Institute’s collection, is of the crucifixion in 522 b.c. of the wealthy and greedy tyrant of Samos, Polycrates, who incited the envy of the Persian viceroy of Sardis, Oroetes, to his peril.