Three Soldiers Resting 1656 - 1657

Salvator Rosa made this pen and brown wash drawing of three soldiers sometime in the mid-17th century. Rosa was Neapolitan, and this work reflects the complex political and social context of Southern Italy at the time. Italy was wracked by near-constant warfare between competing city-states and foreign powers. Rosa himself was politically active, even something of a rebel. We can read this image as a commentary on the life of a soldier. Rosa wasn't ennobling war; instead, he emphasized its human cost. These aren't heroes, they're just tired men. To better understand this drawing, we can consult military histories of the period. It would also be worth looking at Rosa's other work to see how consistent this theme was for him. We can understand art as a product of political and institutional forces.