Castiglione - Lost Genius

by Clayton, Martin, Standring, Timothy J.

"Painter and printmaker Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione (1609–64) was one of the most technically superb and innovative artists of the Italian Baroque. Although he is best known for his evocative etchings that reveal a mastery of light to rival that of Rembrandt and Van Dyck, he also redefined the drawing and printmaking genres through the introduction of his monotyping technique and was among the first to conceive of the oil sketch as a finished work. Sadly, Castiglione’s prolific artistic output has been largely overshadowed by his turbulent character and troubled private life. With this...