The Genius of Castiglione
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
14 x 9 5/8 in. (35.5 x 24.5 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1917
Accession Number
17.50.17-36
Tags
Art Historical Context
Welcome to the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints collection, where you'll find *The Genius of Castiglione*, an exquisite etching by Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione, known as Il Grechetto (1609–1664). Created around 1645–47 and published in 1648, this 14 x 9⅝-inch print (35.5 x 24.5 cm) captures the Baroque master's inventive spirit. Collaborators Matthys van de Merwede, Lord of Clootwyck, and publisher Giovanni Giacomo De Rossi likely contributed to its production and dissemination, highlighting the collaborative nature of 17th-century printmaking. The composition brims with whi...
About the Artist
Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione (Il Grechetto)|Matthys van de Merwede, Lord of Clootwyck|Giovanni Giacomo De Rossi · 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...