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Hero and Leander

Maker

(artist)
1615-1673

Title

Hero and Leander

Medium

pen and brown ink, brown and grey wash on laid paper, on a historic support

Dimensions

Height: 9 cm
Width: 11.5 cm

Accession Number

D.1952.RW.970

Mode of Acquisition

Robert Clermont Witt, bequest, 1952

Credit

The Courtauld, London (Samuel Courtauld Trust)

Copyright

Work in the public domain

Location

Not currently on display

Keywords

Label Text

The classical story of Leander relates that he would swim each night across the narrow Hellespont to join his beloved Hero. One stormy winter night he lost his way and drowned. In this sketch Hero spreads her arms in despair as she finds Leander's body washed up on the shore. Rosa's broken pen lines help to convey the tragic tone of the scene.

Provenance

perhaps Charles Noel, 1st Earl Gainsborough (1781-1866) (according to Witt card); E. Parsons & Sons (London); purchased there by Sir Robert Witt, London (1872-1952), L.2228b, n.d. (14 shillings, along with D.1952.RW.969); Witt Bequest 1952

Exhibition History

Special Display - Neapolitan drawings, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 06/10/2011-26/01/2012

Literature

Volpi, Caterina, 'Salvator Rosa: Hero and Leander' in 'Quaderni del Barocco', 2012; 15
p. 14
Illus. p. 14, fig. 17

Mahoney, Michael, The drawings of Salvator Rosa, New York and London 1977
no. 63.13

Inscriptions

Watermark: Watermark: none.

Collector's mark: Support (historic), Verso: lower right corner, stamped in black ink: Sir Robert Witt (L.2228b).

Inscription: Inscriptions on verso visible via transmitted light but illegible and otherwise hidden by support. Support (historic), Recto: lower left edge, graphite, a reference to the Witt numbers for Rosa drawings: “969-979”.

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