Pan reclining at left with two standing satyrs, a large vase on a pedestal at right
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
sheet: 4 1/2 x 8 9/16 in. (11.5 x 21.7 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Phyllis Massar, 2011
Accession Number
2012.136.887
Tags
Art Historical Context
In this enchanting etching from around 1645, Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione—known as Il Grechetto—captures a lively mythological scene from classical antiquity. At left, the god Pan reclines playfully amid lush trees, flanked by two standing satyrs, those mischievous half-human, half-goat companions of Dionysus. To the right, a grand vase atop a pedestal anchors the composition, evoking ancient Roman artifacts and the Baroque fascination with pastoral idylls and antiquity's sensual revelry. Castiglione, a Genoese master of the 17th century, drew inspiration from Titian and Rembrandt, blending ...
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...