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Benedetto Castiglione

Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione

(Wikimedia Commons)

Kopf eines bärtigen Orientalen 1655 31.7 × 23.6 cm (12.5 × 9.3 in), Windsor Castle

Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione (1609–64) was an Italian painter and etcher who was the first artist to produce brushed sketches intended as finished and final works of art (rather than as studies for another work).

Heavily influenced by Rembrandt he experimented with different inking variations on etchings. From there he invented the monotype process in the 1640s. He produced over twenty surviving monotypes, over half of which are set at night.

He normally worked from black to white. He drew directly into an unetched plate, drawing white lines with a stick, created tonal areas with his fingers, rags and brushes. He then printed using a printing press.

File:Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione - The Creation of Adam - Google Art Project.jpg
The Creation of Adam circa 1642 Monotype (dark manner) in black on ivory laid paper Height: 303 mm (11.93 in). Width: 203 mm (7.99 in).