Scenes of Witchcraft: Evening (c. 1645–49): Art, History and Details

Scenes of Witchcraft: Evening (c. 1645–49) 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:

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.

Object facts

• Title: Scenes of Witchcraft: Evening
• Date: c. 1645–49
• Creator attribution: Salvator Rosa (Italian, 1615–1673)
• Culture: Italy
• Type: Painting
• Technique: 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.)
• Collection: P - Italian 16th & 17th Century
• Department: European Painting and Sculpture
• Accession number: 1977.37.3

A detail from the museum

The artist chose the painting's shape to reference the foundational role of the circle in practicing magic.

Collection credit

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• Langdon, Helen. Salvator Rosa Paint and Performance. London: Reaktion Books, Limited, 2022. .
• Università di Urbino. Notizie da Palazzo Albani. Art & Architecture Complete. Urbino: Argalìa, 2009. pp. 81-104.
• Fabbri, Sara. “Quattro Tondi con Incantesimi di Salvator Rosa nella collezione del marchese Filippo Niccolini.” Notizie da Palazzo Albani XXXVIII (2009): 81-104.

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.