Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione (1609-1664)

• Was an Italian Baroque painter, printmaker and draftsman.
• He is best known now for his etchings, and as the inventor of the printmaking technique of monotyping.
• He was known as Il Grechetto in Italy and in France as Le Benédette.
• He had various brushes with the law in his lifetime.
• The turbulence that characterised his life overshadowed his artistic brilliance, and Castiglione struggled to achieve recognition in his lifetime.
• Much of what is known about the artist is derived not from fulfilled commissions, but from court documents. 
• He painted portraits, historical pieces and landscapes, but chiefly excelled in fairs, markets and rural scenes with animals.
• Noah's ark and the animals entering the Ark was a favorite subject of his.
• Next