From the film-maker:

The animated short 'Break' was inspired by Salvator Rosa's self portrait. I was struck by the statement 'Be quiet, unless your speech be better than silence', which appears on the board he is holding. It seems very much to be a direction, and I was struck not only by the directness of such a statement, but by the irony of placing it within a situation in which one will surely be quiet anyway. I felt that Rosa might well be having the last laugh, and that his stern nature in the painting might be a façade, an unnecessary direction with ulterior motives. With this in mind, I decided to explore the theme of this perceived hypocrisy, to examine this aggressively bored individual and question what his true nature might be.

Billy Elliot

A piece inspired by Salvator Rosa, Self Portrait, about 1645