The Creation of Adam
c. 1645/50
Medium
Monotype in black ink on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
30.3 × 20.3 cm (11 15/16 × 8 in.)
Classification
monotype
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
105073
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Considered one of the most original and innovative Italian artists of the Baroque period, Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione literally separated light from darkness, creating form out of chaos in this work, his earliest known monotype. In a perfect match of medium and message, Castiglione, the Genoese artist credited with inventing the technique, used this new method to portray the central act of Genesis: the creation of man. He produced this electrifying image by subtracting the design from the ink...
About the Artist
Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione · 1609–1664
Versatile and eclectic artist open to foreign influence which was unusual for an Italian artist of his time. Some of his best-known works are somewhat fantastical. He was court painter at Mantua from 1648. Comment on works: Religious; Landscapes; Animals; Mythology.