Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione was a brilliant etcher who invented monotype. Trained in his native Genoa, his paintings (especially his oil sketches) show the influence of Van Dyck and Rubens. Rembrandt, though, was the model for his prints. As a painter Castiglione worked across genres, but his imaginative etchings, whether pastoral, mythological or religious, most often treat themes that suggest transience. Pan reclining at an urn was part of a series Castiglione produced illustrating Theocratus’s Idylls and Virgil’s Eclogues. Both in subject matter and style this etching evokes Pan’s place within the natural world and the peace and well-being central to the pastoral vision.

-Tori Erisman ‘22

For More Information about Castiglione:

https://art.famsf.org/giovanni-benedetto-castiglione-il-grechetto

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William & Mary Libraries, Special Collections Research Center