# The Creation of Adam

**Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione** (Italian, 1609–1664)  
c. 1645/50  
Monotype in black ink on ivory laid paper  
30.3 × 20.3 cm (11 15/16 × 8 in.)

Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago, 1985.1113. [The museum's record](https://www.artic.edu/artworks/105073).

## About this work

God the Father, surrounded by radiating light, reaches down from the clouds to touch Adam and bring him to life. Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione is credited with inventing the monotype in the 1640s: he covered a copper plate with ink, wiped and scratched the image out of the darkness with brushes, rags and sticks, and then printed a single strong impression. The method suits this subject perfectly, with light emerging from the dark, and the result has the freedom of a drawing combined with the rich blacks of a print.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione made this in about 1645/50, aged about 28. It is now at the Art Institute of Chicago.

### What you’re looking at

Drawing of god, radiating light, reaching down from clouds, touching male figure.

_Description from the Art Institute of Chicago._

### How it was made

- **Laid paper.** Handmade on a mould of close-set wires, which leave fine parallel lines you can see when the sheet is held to the light.

### [Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/giovanni-benedetto-castiglione)

Italian, 1609–1664; born in Genoa; died in Mantua

Castiglione, nicknamed Il Grechetto, trained in his native Genoa and worked in Rome before becoming court painter to the Gonzaga in Mantua. He painted pastoral journeys of the patriarchs crowded with animals and vessels, but his most original work is on paper: he invented the monotype, painting an image on a plate and pressing it onto a sheet, and made bold drawings with a brush loaded with oil paint. His etchings show the influence of Rembrandt.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

## Facts

- Type: Print
- Culture: Italy
- The artist was about 28
- Real size: about 12 × 8 in (30 × 20 cm). Closest to life size: the 8 × 10 in print.
- Century: 17th century
- Movement: [Baroque](https://www.ochreeditions.com/movements/baroque)
- Subjects: Adam (Biblical), gods (deities), mythology, religion, Christianity, Christian subjects
- Colour: black
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/265.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/265/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68; 20 × 30 in $86; 24 × 36 in $108; 30 × 40 in $148
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164; 20 × 30 in $208; 24 × 36 in $258; 30 × 40 in $338
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98; 18 × 24 in $118; 20 × 30 in $148; 24 × 36 in $178; 30 × 40 in $228
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3; 20 × 30 in $5; 24 × 36 in $5; 30 × 40 in $5

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/the-creation-of-adam-aic-105073).