Circe with the companions of Ulysses changed into animals

Art Historical Context

In the enchanting etching *Circe with the Companions of Ulysses Changed into Animals* (1650–51), Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione, known as Il Grechetto, captures a pivotal moment from Homer's *Odyssey*. The sorceress Circe, surrounded by the ruins of her palace, presides over Odysseus's transformed crew—now a menagerie of peacocks, deer, sheep, and other beasts. Created during the Italian Baroque era, this print draws on classical mythology to explore themes of enchantment, power, and the blurred line between human and animal, resonating with 17th-century fascination with ancient tales amid the Counter-Reformation's embrace of dramatic narratives. Castiglione, a Genoese master etcher influenced by Rembrandt, revolutionized printmaking with his loose, expressive lines that mimic the fluidity of oil painting. Here, the etching is enriched by subtle touches of red chalk added by hand, heightening the warmth and texture of the animals' fur and Circe's flowing drapery. Measuring just 8¼ × 11⅞ inches, its intimate scale invites close viewing, revealing the artist's innovative monotype-like effects in a medium typically reserved for precise reproduction. A gift to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1980, this work exemplifies Castiglione's genius in transforming mythology into vivid, tactile drama, bridging painting and print traditions for collectors and scholars alike.

About the Artist

Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione (Il Grechetto) · 1609–1664

Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione, known as Il Grechetto, was baptized on March 23, 1609, in Genoa and died on May 5, 1664, in Mantua. Born into a large family, he collaborated closely with his brother Salvatore, an artist who shared his talents, and later taught his son Francesco, whose works were sometimes confused with his own. His parents placed him in the studio of Giovanni Battista Paggi, where...