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Museum Critical Review

Image Courtesy of Kimbel l Museum

Pythagoras Emerging from the Underworld is an Italian work painted in 1662 by Salvator Rosa. The piece, 51 5/8 x 74 7/16 inches, resides in the Kimbell Art Museum, and depicts a crowd of people in an outdoor landscape. These people all appear to gaze to the right, and if we follow their gaze, we find Pythagoras emerging from a wood, climbing up a hill, the peak of which holds the crowd of people. The scene is lit by a solitary ray of sunlight against a storm in the distance, shining upon the crowd on the left and eventually falling on Pythagoras on the right.

In his painting, Rosa depicts Pythagoras’ return from his trip to the Underworld, in which he reportedly viewed poets such as Homer being tortured for revealing the secrets of the gods (Rosa). The painting evidently portrays his return specifically to his followers, one of which can be seen with outstretched arms, as if marveling at the unlikely return of her beloved teacher. In fact, all of the Pythagoras’ followers appear enthralled by his presence, as if staring at a rare animal in a zoo. Their gaze therefore draws our eyes from the followers to Pythagoras himself, emphasizing his presence and subordinating that of his followers. Pythagoras’ return was painted during the Baroque Period of Italian Art, a period—spanning the 17th century—in which artists returned to the naturalism of the Renaissance (Mules). This is evident in the realistic manner by which Rosa painted his landscapes. Rosa was first and foremost a renowned landscapist (Rosa), and this is clear in the artful way Rosa uses the landscapes to draw the viewer’s attention to the hidden Pythagoras. This is accomplished through the use of diagonal lines, created by the edge of the cliff and a leaning tree, that end at the emerging Pythagoras. The line formed by the tree also acts as a barrier between two spaces: the exit of the underworld to the right and the realm of man to the left. Additionally, Rosa uses light to draw emphasis on Pythagoras by creating a beam of light that emanates from Pythagoras’ destination to the left, and stretches across the canvas and finally lands on Pythagoras’ head. This light, in combination with the storm brewing in the background, serves to highlight the dark nature of the place from whence Pythagoras came, and the bright, unkindled innocence into which he is heading. Finally, Rosa uses the environment of the painting to establish asymmetrical balance. He does this by placing more visually heavy dark colors to the right of the vertical axis created by the tree, and lighter, less heavy colors in the larger space to the left of the tree.

In Pythagoras Emerging from the Underworld, Rosa attempts to draw our attention to the nature of prophets and prominent men. In the painting, Rosa creates a sense of wonder in the crowd of followers. This wonder is portrayed as borderline idolatry, and thus speaks to the nature of prophet-like men. In Rosa’s depiction, the followers of Pythagoras know nothing of where he has been. History tells us that Pythagoras tells his followers of his journey, and that his followers believed this word-of-mouth history (Rosa). Pythagoras very well may have visited the Underworld to observe the tortured souls of past poets, but men should not so easily trust him on the basis of his stature as a teacher. I believe that in portraying the ray of light emanating from behind the crowd, which falls on the darkness surrounding Pythagoras, Rosa alludes to not only the darkness of the underworld, but the deceiving nature of prominent men such as Pythagoras, men who make their way towards the innocence of the world of the common man just as Pythagoras climbs toward the ray of light. Today, this message applies to the world of politics. Too often, men and women blindly trust the word of a politician, falling prey to the ethos he creates by way of prominence. At times, they are right to do so, but more often we must be weary of stories such as Pythagoras’.

Works Cited

Mules, Helen. "Italian Art and Architecture." Scholastic. Scholastic, n.d. Web. 21 June 2015.

Rosa, Salvator. Pythagorus Emerging from the Underworld. 1662. Oil on canvas. Kimbell Art Museum, n.p.