Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione
Youth Playing a Pipe for a Satyr1645–50
A youth plays a pipe for a satyr, one of the pastoral subjects from the classical world that Castiglione returned to again and again. More about this work
About this work
A youth plays a pipe for a satyr, one of the pastoral subjects from the classical world that Castiglione returned to again and again. The Genoese artist developed an unusual technique of drawing with a brush loaded with coloured oil paint directly on paper, working quickly so that the strokes keep their fluid, improvised energy; here the oil has partly soaked into the sheet. Such brush drawings were often made as independent works rather than studies, and collectors prized them.
Written by Ochre Editions.
How it was made
- Oil paint
- Pigment ground in a drying oil, usually linseed. It dries slowly, so painters could blend on the canvas, build up thin translucent glazes, and rework a picture over weeks. Canvas replaced wooden panels in the 1500s because it is lighter and can be rolled.
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.
Rights and the museum’s record
Public domain. The Met has dedicated this image to the public domain under CC0, so anyone may copy, adapt and use it, for any purpose, without asking. Our prints and files are reproductions made from the museum’s image; the museum doesn’t endorse them.
- Object number
- 62.126
- Credit
- Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Type
- Drawings
- Department
- Drawings and Prints
- Licence
- CC0 1.0 Universal
- Museum record
- See it on the museum’s site
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