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Arcadian Shepherds

Creator

Italian Artist · 1609–1664

Unlike many Italian artists, Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione was profoundly influenced by foreigners. He first studied with local artists in his native Genoa, absorbing not only Tuscan Mannerism and Caravaggism but also the style of Peter Paul Rubens, who had worked in Genoa. From 1621 Castiglione also worked in Anthony van Dyck's Genoa studio. Early on, he was attracted to Flemish animal painting.

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Date: about 1655
Medium: Oil on canvas
Culture: Italian
Department: Paintings
Institution: Getty Museum

Two Arcadian shepherds with coarse features discover a tomb inscribed with the words *Temporalis Æternitas*, alluding to the brevity or frailty of human life. The subject, one that Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione had borrowed from Poussin a decade earlier, was meant to remind viewers that time brings oblivion even to the highest achievements of humankind. An assortment of objects lying on the ground at the left--statues, musical instruments, a seashell, books, and armor--symbolize human accomplishments that have begun to crumble into ruin. Set against a blue sky with purplish-gray clouds, Castiglione evoked the mystery of an ancient lost civilization. The colors are rich and powerful, with bright reds and blues and a strong red-brown ground.

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