Castiglione, Giovanni Benedetto

Castiglione, Giovanni Benedetto (jōvän`nē bānādĕt`tō kästēlyō`nā), 1610?–1670, Italian painter and engraver of the Genoese school, called Il Grechetto. In his later years Castiglione was court painter at Mantua. He is best known for his landscapes and rural scenes with animals, but he also painted portraits and religious works, such as the Nativity (Genoa). His pictures are full of life and movement, their colors rich and glowing. Castiglione's etchings are among the best produced in Italy during his century. His treatment of light and shade is particularly fine. A number of his oil-on-paper sketches are in the Royal Library at Windsor.