Glaucus and Scylla (c. 1661): Art, History and Details

Glaucus and Scylla (c. 1661) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Salvator Rosa (Italian, 1615–1673).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Salvatore Rosa was a prolific and skilled printmaker, producing more than 100 etchings throughout his career. Derived from Ovid's Metamorphoses, Glaucus and Scylla tells a story associated with magic and witchcraft. After drinking a magical herb, the fisherman Glaucus was immortalized and transformed into a sea god with fins and a fish tail. Rosa depicts the moment in which the amorous Glaucus declares his love to the beautiful water nymph, Scylla, who flees. Later, Glacus implored the witch Circe to help him win the heart of Scylla, but attracted to the sea god herself, the jealous witch poisoned the waters where Scylla lived, turning the nymph into the infamous rock that troubled Ulysses and countless sea travelers. The ominous, rolling clouds and Glaucus's thrashing form project the drama of Scylla's escape and foreshadow her own metamorphosis to come.

Object facts

• Title: Glaucus and Scylla
• Date: c. 1661
• Creator attribution: Salvator Rosa (Italian, 1615–1673)
• Culture: Italy
• Type: Print
• Technique: etching
• Dimensions: Framed: 52.4 x 39.4 cm (20 5/8 x 15 1/2 in.)
• Collection: PR - Etching
• Department: Prints
• Accession number: 1971.176

Collection credit

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Wilbur D. Prescott

Further reading listed by the museum

• Langdon, Helen. Salvator Rosa Paint and Performance. London: Reaktion Books, Limited, 2022. pp.149-154.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.