The Witch by Salvator Rosa, dating to circa 1647-1650, has been purchased by the Uffizi Galleries for 450 thousand euros. The imposing oil on canvas that reaches 212x147cm will go on display from January 11 until March in the Sala Bianca of Palazzo Pitti before being moved to the rooms dedicated to 17th century masters.
The influential artist Salvator Rosa (Naples, 1615 – Rome, 1673) is referred to as one of the first examples of a “tormented artist.” He is said to have despised patrons and made enemies in Rome with the sculptor Bernini. Known for his depictions of magical and occult subjects and wild landscapes, often populated by bandits, Rosa influenced the sublime painters of the 18th and 19th centuries. In 1640, he accepted Giovanni Carlo de’ Medici’s invitation to move to Florence, where he flourished as a poet, philosopher and painter in the circle of virtuosi cultivated by the cardinal, before returning to Rome in 1649 where he continued to be a controversial figure.
At the centre of the painting, the evil sorceress appears to be kneeling, with distorted and rage filled movements as she brandishes a flaming branch in her left hand, while from her right, a diabolical creature emerges from a spherical container. On the ground, a glass jug, coins, mirror, pieces of bone, a skull and a white sheet of paper bearing symbols, including the monogram RS, reveal esoteric messages. Most horrifyingly, however, is the child wrapped in a cloth in the shadows in the background, referring to the legend in which witches used children’s blood to prepare their magic potions.
Director of the Uffizi Galleries, Simone Verdi, commented: “An iconic acquisition, it enriches and completes the Baroque collection, returning a painting to Italy that would otherwise have been destined for exile because it was not protected and had been abroad for many years.”
