ticketsMember | Make a donation

Dream of Aeneas: Aeneas rests his head on his hands atop his shield, while the river god Tiber leans on a vessel and points upward with his left hand

ca. 1663–64
Not on view
The Metropolitan Museum's painted version of Salvator Rosa's 'Dream of Aeneas' (65.118) may have preceded this etching, but in the print Rosa altered nearly most of the details clearly wanted to achieve a very different effect. The artist drew his inspiration from Virgil's Aeneid (8.26–65), in which the weary hero, having finally reached Italy and about to enter into war with Turnus, falls asleep on the bank of the Tiber. The god of the stream appears to him, offering advice and foretelling his future as the founder of the Roman race.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Dream of Aeneas: Aeneas rests his head on his hands atop his shield, while the river god Tiber leans on a vessel and points upward with his left hand
  • Artist: Salvator Rosa (Italian, Arenella (Naples) 1615–1673 Rome)
  • Date: ca. 1663–64
  • Medium: Etching and drypoint
  • Dimensions: Sheet: 13 13/16 x 9 3/16 in. (35.1 x 23.3 cm)
    Plate: 13 11/16 x 9 in. (34.7 x 22.9 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1917
  • Object Number: 17.50.17-85
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
The Dream of Aeneas, Salvator Rosa Italian, Oil on canvas
The Dream of Aeneas
Salvator Rosa
1660–65
Three ox skulls, two horse skulls, and a grotesque head, study for "Democritus in Meditation", Salvator Rosa Italian, Etching and drypoint
Three ox skulls, two horse skulls, and a grotesque head, study for "Democritus in Meditation"
Salvator Rosa
1662
Three human skulls, study for "Democritus in Meditation", Salvator Rosa Italian, Etching
Three human skulls, study for "Democritus in Meditation"
Salvator Rosa
1662
Landscape with a figure seated on a rock, Salvator Rosa Italian, Etching
Landscape with a figure seated on a rock
Salvator Rosa
ca. 1640
Two ox skulls and a portion of a third, study for "Democritus in Meditation", Salvator Rosa Italian, Etching
Two ox skulls and a portion of a third, study for "Democritus in Meditation"
Salvator Rosa
1662

Related Content

Timeline of Art History

Entries from The Met's art encyclopedia.

Publications

Books, guides, and catalogues published by The Met.

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.