# Youth Playing a Pipe for a Satyr

**Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione** (Italian, 1609–1664)  
1645–50  
Brush with colored oil paint; paper partly saturated with oil; lined  
16 x 21-1/16 in. (40.6 x 53.5 cm)

Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 62.126. [The museum's record](https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/335663).

## 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._

Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione painted this in 1645–50, aged about 36. It is now at The Met in New York.

### 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](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: Drawings
- The artist was about 36
- Real size: about 16 × 21 in (41 × 54 cm). The 16 × 20 in print is close to life size.
- Century: 17th century
- Subjects: Musical Instruments, Women, Satyrs
- Colour: brown
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/996.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/996/1920.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
- 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
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98; 18 × 24 in $118
- 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

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/youth-playing-a-pipe-for-a-satyr-met-335663).