GIOVANNI BATTISTA CASTELLO (GÊNES 1547-1639) - photo 1
GIOVANNI BATTISTA CASTELLO (GÊNES 1547-1639) - photo 2

GIOVANNI BATTISTA CASTELLO (GÊNES 1547-1639)

Lot 14
21.11.2024 16:00UTC +00:00
Classic
Starting price
€ 30 000
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUnited Kingdom, London
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ID 1336096
Lot 14 | GIOVANNI BATTISTA CASTELLO (GÊNES 1547-1639)
Estimate value
€ 30 000 – 50 000
GIOVANNI BATTISTA CASTELLO (GÊNES 1547-1639)
L'Adoration des Mages
daté '1592' (en bas à droite), avec numérotation '49683' et '117' (verso du montage) et monogrammé, daté et localisé ‘JBC 1592 genova’ (sur une page de manuscrit au verso du montage)
gouache sur vélin rehaussée d'or, traits d'encadrement à la plume et encre brune
33,9 x 27,2 cm (13 3/8 x 10 ¾ in.)




Provenance

Vente Van Ham Kunstauktionen, Cologne, 17 novembre 2006, lot 963.
Collection particulière européenne.



Literature

E. De Laurentiis, Giovanni Battista Castello il Genovese, miniatore (Genova, 1549-1639), (à paraître).



Further details

GIOVANNI BATTISTA CASTELLO, ADORATION OF MAGI, BODYCOLOUR ON VELLUM, HEIGHTENED WITH GOLD, MONOGRAMED AND DATED '1592'
(ON THE VERSO OF A MANUSCRIPT PAGE)
This gouache on vellum, dated 1592, is in a beautiful condition and is extremely detailed. It has recently been reattributed to Giovanni Battista Castello, one of the most important Genoese miniaturists of the Mannerist period, the elder brother of Bernardo Castello (1557-1629) and a pupil of Luca Cambiaso (1527-1585).
There are two other versions of this Adoration of the Magi, of almost similar dimensions. The first was formerly attributed to the Delft artist Christian Jansz. Biezelingen (1557-1600) like the one shown here. It dates from 1584, more than ten years before the present one, and now at the Städelschen Kunstinstitut in Frankfurt (fig. 1; inv. Nr. 760; Nach dem Leben und aus der Phantasie Niederländische Zeichnungen vom 15. bis 18. Jahrhundert aus dem Städelschen Kunstinstitut, exhib. cat., Frankfurt am Main, 2000, no. 14, ill. as by C.-J. Biezelingen). The religious scene is set in the heart of a town with architectural buildings at the sides and in the background, unlike the present scene, which is set in a landscape with blue skies and trees.
The second, later and rather different version is dated and located ‘Genova 1613’. In the foreground, towards the right, a large repoussoir figure from behind carries a standard, while a seascape can be seen in the background (unknown location; Old Master Drawings, New York, London, Colnaghi, 1992, no. 23).The mount, typical of Castello's works, features on the reverse of the miniature a manuscript page with the artist's monogram ‘JBC’, which can be found on another gouache: the Sermon of Saint John the Baptist (unknown location; Hampel sale, Munich, 25 September 2019, lot 710). Castello was already excelling in detailed scenes on parchment or vellum when he stayed in Madrid around 1584-1589, accompanying his master Luca Cambiaso. During this period, he worked for the court of Philip II of Spain, illustrating some of the choir books at the Escorial. He really reached the peak of his art on his return to Genoa, in the years 1590-1610, and produced the present miniature in 1592.
We would like to thank Dr Elena De Laurentiis for confirming the attribution after photographic examination of the work, which will be included in the forthcoming monograph on the artist.
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