
God Creating the Animals
Oil on canvas
101 ¼ x 117 ¼ ( 258 x 298 cm.)
Private collection
Myths of creation occur in Mesopotamian and Canaanite literature and it is from these bodies of literature that the Old Testament book of Genesis derived some of its motifs surrounding the acts of creation. Genesis contains an account of eight works of creation that were actually spread over six days, the first four of which are known as the Works of Division and the second as the Works of Ornamentation. The subject of Castiglione’s painting, God’s Creation of the Animals, took place on the sixth day, when the creation of man also took place. The subject of the creation was extremely popular during the High Renaissance and was treated on a monumental scale by both Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel and Raphael in the Vatican Logge. More on this painting
Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione (baptized 23 March 1609–5 May 1664) was an Italian Baroque painter, printmaker and draftsman, of the Genoese school. He is best known now for his etchings, and as the inventor of the printmaking technique of monotyping. He was known as Il Grechetto in Italy and in France as Le Benédette…