| Castiglione developed the monotype and soft ground etching. His experimental brush drawings of oil on paper are unprecedented, while his conflation of pastoral and narrative traditions yielded some of the most attractive paintings of the Genoese school. Both his style and his subject matter contributed significantly to the development of eighteenth century art. The scarcity of documents make his development difficult to establish. Though we know he was born in Genoa, his birth and death dates have been variously estimated, with modern scholars suggesting 1609-1610 for his birth and 1663-1665 for his death. First recorded in Paggi's studio in Genoa, Castiglione apparently completed his training with Sinibaldo Scorza, a local animal specialist. Later biographers mention training with Ferrari and van Dyck, while his subject matter animals and still lifts reflects the Genoese traditions first introduced by the Bassani and continued by Flemings, Jan Roos, and others. Castiglione is unique among Italian artists for his response to Rembrandt's etchings, which he must have known by 1630. Scholars vary as to Castiglione's exact arrival in Rome, but the generally accepted dates are 1631-1634 though some sources say he was only known to have been there by Easter of 1632. He was listed among the members of the the Accademia di San Luca in 1634. His earliest known dated work Pastorale Depicting the Journey of Jacob dated 1633, private collection, was recently published by John Spike. It belongs to a series of episodes of Jacob's Journeys which show Castiglione's early appreciation for Poussin and Claude. It also introduces one of his preferred narrative sources, the Old Testament accounts of patriarchal migrations, which became the basis for his many portrayals of patriarchs, their families, retinues, and animals. Castiglione was apparently drawn into Poussin's circles, making acquaintance with Cassiano dal Pozzo and the antiquarians. He also knew Pietro Testa see Bibliography under Testa, from whom he may have begun to develop a taste for mythologies and other romantic subject matter. Despite his friendship with Bernini, Maratta, Lanfranco,Pietro da Cortona, and Mola, Castiglione's artistic inclinations were closer to those of Pieter van Laer and the Bamboccianti. His lifelong predilection for rustic and bucolic subjects. Castiglione also had a reputation for spending money recklessly and we know he had a peripatetic life. In 1635 Castiglione visited Naples, impressed there by the landscapes of Andrea de Leone. He continued to travel back and forth between various centers, including Rome. During this time Castiglione experimented with brush drawings in oil, which remain among his most celebrated works, and invented the technique for monotype. His romantic subject matter was particularly suited for these fluid and vibrant performances in dark and light brush marks, and it has often been remarked that Salvator Rosa was strongly influenced by these works, as well as by Castiglione's etchings. A portrait etching suggests that Castiglione made a trip to Genoa in 1641, though we can more securely place him there between 1645 and 1647. Castiglione's Nativity signed and dated 1645, Genoa, Chiesa di S. Luca was thought to have been his earliest dated work until the more recently discovered Journey of Jacob. His St. Bernard Adoring the Cross Genoa, S. Maria della Cella and his contributions to the St. James cycle, Oratory of S. Giacomo della Marina SL James Driving the Moors from Spain, were fundamental to the later development of the Genoese school. We know that Valerio Castello and Domenico Piola among others copied them. These paintings demonstrate Castiglione's careful study of Rubens van Dyck was also an important influence during this time, as can be noted in the Immaculate Conception dated 1650, Minneapolis Institute of Art), painted in Rome. The timing of Castiglione's involvement with Mantua remains a matter of scholarly disagreement. Some sources suggest an association with Mantua as early as 1639, though others suggest he was actually appointed court painter in 1648. We know he was living in Rome in 1647 on the via Rasella and was still living there until 1651, but was evidently intermittently working for the court at Mantua and also spending lime in Genoa. In Mantua, he was inspired by Fetti's loose and vivacious painterly style. The paintings from this period show a natural affinity with Fetti's fluid brushwork, first noted in his oil brush drawings and monotypes as early as the 1630s. Castiglione not only produced a number of paintings for the Duke of Mantua but he also acquired works by other artists for him an activity which is recorded in a number of surviving letters. In 1659 Castiglione traveled to Venice to take a cure for the gout. Thereafter he re settled in Mantua in a new house donated by the Duke. Castiglione returned to Genoa a short time later and remained until March 1663, whereupon he returned once again to Mantua, where he is thought to have died between 1663 and 1665. Though there is some confusion between Castiglione's works and those of his son Francesco, and his brother Salvatore. There is no mistaking the importance of Castiglione's oeuvre for the history of art. His drawings are considered among the finest of the period, which in their powerful and free graphic style anticipate the eighteenth century. His invention of the monotype contributed a technique still practiced by artists today. He anticipates and influences such diverse masters as the Tiepolos, Boucher, and Fragonard. |
