Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione’s etching, “Old Man Wearing a Fur Cap”, c1648

Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione (aka Il Grechetto) (1609–1664)

“Old Man Wearing a Fur Cap” (TIB title) (aka “Un Vieillard ve de profil et tuorné vers la gauche” [Bartsch title]); "Head of an Old Woman with a Fur Cap” [Rijksmuseum title]), 1645–1650, from the series of 16 plates (TIB 32–47), “Small Studies of Heads in Oriental Headdress”, printed from the original plate by McCreery in his 1816 edition of “200 Etchings”.

Etching on fine China paper trimmed along the platemark (as published for the McCreery edition) and backed with a support sheet.

Size: (sheet) 10.8 x 8.1 cm.

Inscribed on plate: (upper left) “GB Castilione Genovese”; (lower right corner in reverse) “6”.

State ii (of ii)

TIB 46(21).38(29) (Paolo Bellini [ed.] 1982, “The Illustrated Bartsch: Italian Masters of the Seventeenth Century”, vol 46, New York, Abaris Books, p. 47, cat. no 38 [29]); Bellini 1982 29 (Paolo Bellini 1982, “L'Opera incisa di Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione”, Milan, Comune di Milano, p. 116, cat. 29); Bartsch XXI.29.37 (Adam Bartsch 1803, “Le Peintre graveur”, Vienna).

The British Museum and the Rijksmuseum offer descriptions of this print:

https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1871-0812-31;

http://hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.34974.

For those who love insights into the lives of the old masters, the following purported “facts” about Castiglione may be fascinating:

1: Castiglione invented the monotype process (i.e. “A single print taken from a design created in oil paint or printing ink on glass or metal.” Oxford Dictionary)

2: Castiglione “discovered” Rembrandt and “is the first artist in Italy known to have borrowed directly from the Dutch master” (Timothy J Standring & Martin Clayton, 2013, “Castiglione: Lost Genius”, Royal Collection Trust, p. 43)

3: He threw his sister off a rooftop. (Standring & Clayton, 2013)

4: He accused his brother of being a thief and an assassin and sent him to jail. (Standring & Clayton, 2013)

5: He almost killed his nephew with relentless punches. (Standring & Clayton, 2013)

6: Castiglione “pioneered the development of the oil sketch” (Wikipedia).

Condition: a well-printed impression with no sign of wear to the printing plate, trimmed along the platemark and laid upon an archival support sheet of millennium quality washi paper. The sheet is in an excellent condition with no tears, holes, folds, abrasions, stains, foxing or signs of handling.

I am selling this superb etching by the artist argued to be the inventor of the monotype for AU$325 (currently US$238.47/EUR218.03/GBP193.65 at the time of this listing) including postage and handling to anywhere in the world (but not, of course, any import duties/taxes imposed by some countries).

If you are interested in purchasing this arresting study that the Rijksmuseum proposes is “inspired by similar etchings by Rembrandt and Lievens” (see RP-P-OB-12.181), please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.

This print has been sold