Diogenes searching for a honest man
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
sheet: 11 3/4 x 8 1/4 in. (29.8 x 20.9 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1917
Accession Number
17.50.17-54
Tags
Art Historical Context
This etching by Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione, also known as Il Grechetto, and published by Giovanni Domenico de Rossi around 1645–47, brings to life the ancient Greek philosopher Diogenes’ famous search for an honest man. Created in the medium of etching, the work measures roughly 11 3/4 by 8 1/4 inches and showcases the artist’s skill in rendering intricate details through fine lines and tonal contrasts typical of 17th-century printmaking. The composition features the lantern-carrying Diogenes amid male nudes and monkeys, highlighting themes of human nature and virtue. As a print from the ...
About the Artist
Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione (Il Grechetto)|Giovanni Domenico de Rossi · 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...