Roman Landscape with a Shepherd and Sheep

Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione (Il Grechetto)

late 1640s · Oil on copper · European Paintings

A shepherd seems to guide his flock of inquisitive sheep from the Italian countryside into the gallery. Castiglione painted historical and religious subjects, such as the Ecstasy of Saint Francis, hung in the adjacent gallery, but his exploration of landscape and animals such as this were particularly prized and influential. Technically innovative as both a painter and a printmaker, Castiglione used his copper support to imbue this scene with warm luminosity.

Artist

Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione (Il Grechetto)

Date

late 1640s

Medium

Oil on copper

Department

European Paintings

Credit line

Bequest of Errol M. Rudman, 2020