Varia Et Concinna Delineamenta 

Salvator Rosa made this print, one of a series titled "Varia Et Concinna Delineamenta," sometime in the mid-17th century. Rosa was a bit of a rebel, known for his wild landscapes and dramatic history paintings. Here, we see a female figure, draped but bare-breasted, standing in what looks like a desolate landscape. Rosa was fascinated by the idea of the "sublime" – that mix of awe and terror we feel when confronted with nature's power. But there’s also a tension here related to the representation of women. In Rosa's time, female nudes were often used to represent abstract concepts, like virtue or beauty, but also as objects of male desire. This figure seems caught between those two worlds. She’s vulnerable, but also powerful in her connection to the raw, untamed landscape. Rosa plays with these contradictions. He invites us to consider the complex ways women were viewed and portrayed in his era.