Print, 'Jason and the Dragon', Salvator Rosa, Rome, 1663-64

Silhouetted against rocks and vegetation, a dragon lies on the ground dominated by a male figure in armour pouring over its head some liquid from a bowl, the man's cape is hovering over his left shoulder.

Although none of Salvator Rosa's etchings are dated, this etching is traditionally ascribed to a date ca. 1663-64. It is a fine example from Rosa's large output of prints and shows a rarely-depicted episode from the ancient author Ovid's Metamorphoses(7:121) when Jason, the Greek hero, tricked the dragon, guardian of the Golden Fleece, with a potion given by the sorceress Medea. Overcome with drowsiness, the dragon allows the hero to flee and continue his journey. This composition may be among the most significant of Rosa's large etchings inspired by magic and sorcery, among his favourite subjects.

The composition also combines two types Rosa frequently represented: soldiers and fantastic creatures. Rosa is famous for his large number of Figurine studies of lone armoured figures, etched and drawn; and for the inclusion in several compositions of skulls and other fantastic shapes, such as in the etching and related painting The Meditation of Democritus (Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen - KMS4112) and St George and the Dragon (Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris - no. 335) which presents a dragon very similar to the present one. Salerno (p. 149) considers that this version may be the first idea for the Jason etching

Rosa considered his etchings as original compositions and often turned them into paintings, with variants, so as to revitalise his concept. This practice was a departure from the tradition in which engravings were made after painted compositions to disseminate the image. The present composition is thought to precede the execution of a related painting, with slight differences, executed between 1665 and 1670 (Museum of Fine Arts, Montreal - inv. 1960.1251), while a replica, probably by the artist's own hand, is in the collection of the Earl of Harrowby, England. A preparatory drawing is in the Nationalmuseum, Stockholm (M.75.1), which appears to be scored for transfer even though, as Wallace noticed (1979, p. 312), it is quite unusual to find such a high degree of finish in a preparatory study.

The original plate is preserved at the Calcografia Nazionale in Rome.

Salvator Rosa (1615-1673) was born in Arenella near Naples and soon absorbed the energy and violence informing Neapolitan art, characteristics which would be apparent throughout his career. Rosa was a prolific etcher although he also produced drawings and paintings. He particularly favoured macabre and fantastic subjects such as the present one, which shows the Greek hero Jason charming the dragon, guardian of the Golden Fleece, with a potion given by the sorceress Medea, as related by the ancient Roman author Ovid in his book, Metamorphoses.

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