Details
GIOVANNI BENEDETTO CASTIGLIONE (1609-1669)
Circe changing Ulysses's Men into Beasts
etching, circa1650, on laid paper, watermark Letters IHS, a very good impression of the second, final state, printing with great clarity and contrasts
Plate 219 x 310 mm.
Sheet 220 x 311 mm.
Provenance
Christie's, London, 4 December 1974, lot 65 (as Melancholy; £441-).
Eric G. Stanley (1923-2018), Oxford; acquired at the above sale (through Colnaghi & Co., London).
Literature
Bartsch XXI.21.22; Bellini 60
Special notice
Please note this lot is the property of a consumer. See H1 of the Conditions of Sale.
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Lot Essay

In the past this etching has been interpreted as a depiction of Melancholy, including by Adam Bartsch, but more recent scholars seem to agree on the identification of the figure as the sorceress Circe. Although there is no drawing or painting in the artist's oeuvre relating directly to this print, Castiglione treated this subject repeatedly in different mediums, including in a rapid sketch at the Philadelphia Museum of Art (inv. no. 1984-56-39), a drawing in the Royal Collection, Windsor (inv. no. 904067), and a number of paintings, including one version in the Uffizi, Florence.

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