Drie riviergoden met urnen c. 1660 - 1661

Salvator Rosa rendered this etching, "Three River Gods with Urns," in the 17th century. We see three male figures reclining with urns, symbols of the rivers they personify. The river god is an ancient motif, deeply rooted in our psyche. Consider the Greek god Oceanus, the Titan embodying the world ocean, often depicted with a flowing beard and muscular physique, much like Rosa’s figures. This archetype embodies the life-giving and uncontrollable aspects of nature. The flowing water symbolizes constant change, the passage of time, and the subconscious itself, an endless current shaping the landscape of our minds. Note how Rosa's gods are contemplative, almost melancholic. This reflects a shift from the triumphal depictions of antiquity to a more internalized, Romantic understanding of nature’s power. It echoes in Caspar David Friedrich's solitary wanderers, dwarfed by the sublime, an anxiety of the modern man. This image evokes a deep-seated, timeless awareness of nature's grandeur and our fleeting existence within its currents.