Heraclitus and Democritus
around 1645/49 | Salvator Rosa
Rosa painted this tondo in Florence for his friend, the publisher and art dealer Francesco Cordini. Heraclitus and Democritus – representatives of two antithetical world views since late antiquity – are absorbed in reflection on existence. Rosa places Democritus clearly above Heraclitus, who is weeping copiously over the absurdity and transience of all things earthly. Released from misery, the youthful Democritus seems to enter a pact of complicity with the onlooker, to whom he turns with a smile on his face.
Rosa painted this tondo in Florence for his friend, the publisher and art dealer Francesco Cordini. Heraclitus and Democritus – representatives of two antithetical world views since late antiquity – are absorbed in reflection on existence. Rosa places Democritus clearly above Heraclitus, who is weeping copiously over the absurdity and transience of all things earthly. Released from misery, the youthful Democritus seems to enter a pact of complicity with the onlooker, to whom he turns with a smile on his face.
Artist:
Salvator Rosa (1615 Arenella/Neapel - 1673 Rom) DNB
Time:
around 1645/49
Object Name
Painting
Culture
Italian, Roman
Material/technology:
Canvas
Dimensions:
D. 104 cm, Framed: 7 cm x 116 cm
Copyright
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Gemäldegalerie
Invs.
Gemäldegalerie, 5765
Provenance
Painted for Francesco Cordini, Rosa's friend; bought by Archduke Ferdinand Karl of Tyrol; 1663 from Innsbruck to Ambras;
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