Man in profile facing right, wearing a fur hat, from "Small Heads in Oriental Headdress"

Art Historical Context

Behold the captivating *Man in Profile Facing Right, Wearing a Hat*, an etching by Giovanni Benedetto Cast, known as Il Grechetto1609–1664), created around 1645–50. This intimate print, measuring just 4 5/16 × 3 1/8 inches, belongs to Castiglione's series *Small Heads in Oriental He*. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department, exemplifies the artist's mastery of Baroque printmaking during Italy's Seicento era. Castiglione, a Genoese painter and etcher influenced by Rembrandt, pioneered innovative techniques in etching, achieving dramatic contrasts and fluid lin...

About the Artist

Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione (Il Grechetto) · 1609–1664

Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione, known as Il Grechetto, was baptized on March 23, 1609, in Genoa and died on May 5, 1664, in Mantua. Born into a large family, he collaborated closely with his brother Salvatore, an artist who shared his talents, and later taught his son Francesco, whose works were sometimes confused with his own. His parents placed him in the studio of Giovanni Battista Paggi, where...