The Genius of Castiglione

Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione (Il Grechetto) Italian
 Publisher Giovanni Giacomo De Rossi Italian
 Dedicatee Matthys van de Merwede, Lord of Clootwyck Dutch

Not on view

In Castiglione’s most famous etching, a reclining figure holds a book inscribed: “The genius of Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione of Genoa [who] invented and made [this].” The print was published in Rome in 1648 by Gian Giacomo de’ Rossi, who dedicated it to Matthijs van de Merwede, a Dutch nobleman who spent time in Italy between 1647 and 1650. The figure is not a self-portrait of the artist; the composition refers to artistic fame in a general sense. The many details are rich with meaning. For example, fecundity is represented by the basket of poultry and the rabbit, and creativity by the artist’s palette and the sheet of music.

The Genius of Castiglione, Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione (Il Grechetto) (Italian, Genoa 1609–1664 Mantua), Etching

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