Sheet of Satirical Studies (Amorini Riding Phalli) (c. 1650s): Art, History and Details

Sheet of Satirical Studies (Amorini Riding Phalli) (c. 1650s) 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:

This outrageous and comical sheet stands out as one of the few existing examples of Rosa's representation of bawdy material. While Rosa was not interested in lewd imagery for vulgarity's sake, he certainly enjoyed intellectual jokes that advertised his erudite knowledge. The grotesque face at the right, and the cupids that ride the almost-elephantine phalli at center reference Classical and Renaissance motifs. Heads composed of objects-particularly the famous Testa di Cazzi ("head of penises")-were frequently used as decoration on Renaissance maiolica ceramics. This kind of imagery- like the museum's witchcraft paintings-would have been understood by 17th-century audiences as more than just grotesquerie. The exaggerated and lampooning qualities of this drawing both reference and parody these famous artistic traditions, showing how Rosa frequently used satirical humor to establish his identity as a sharp and sophisticated artist.

Object facts

• Title: Sheet of Satirical Studies (Amorini Riding Phalli)
• Date: c. 1650s
• Creator attribution: Salvator Rosa (Italian, 1615–1673)
• Culture: Italy
• Type: Drawing
• Technique: Pen and brown ink, wash, and red chalk
• Dimensions: Sheet: 14 x 36.7 cm (5 1/2 x 14 7/16 in.)
• Collection: DR - Italian
• Department: Drawings
• Accession number: 2009.154

Collection credit

Gift of Joseph F. McCrindle

Further reading listed by the museum

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

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.