Allegory of Fortune c. 1658 - 1659

Salvator Rosa painted this “Allegory of Fortune” using oil paints and brushes sometime in the mid-17th century. Rosa was interested in how materials themselves could convey meaning. Here, he builds up the painting's surface with expressive brushstrokes, creating a scene teeming with life, and the tools and spoils of labor. The artist's materials are presented as inherently charged, capable of capturing the essence of prosperity and earthly reward. But the scene is unsettling: the animals look burdened, and the tools of artistic labor in the lower left seem to be spattered with blood. This approach invites us to consider the labour and cost that is inherent to such excessive reward. Rosa’s painting suggests an underlying critique of the social structures that concentrate wealth and power in the hands of a few. By foregrounding the materiality of both wealth and its artistic representation, Rosa compels viewers to reflect on the social and economic dynamics of the time. He asks us to challenge the traditional distinctions between fine art and craft.