Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione
1646
ink
paper
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Dominant colour
Tobit Burying the Dead is a 1646 ink by Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione, a Baroque work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This etching shows a dark, rocky scene with a group of people around a body on the ground. One figure stands tall, holding a shovel, while others kneel or bend over the body. The background is rough and shadowy, with no clear sky or light source—just deep, tangled lines. The artist used a technique called drypoint to scratch fine, webby textures into the metal plate, creating a gritty, almost chaotic look. This method makes the lines fuzzy, like the edges of the rocks or the folds in the clothes. Next, look up etching to see how this process works.
Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione (baptized 23 March 1609 – 5 May 1664) was an Italian Baroque painter, printmaker and draftsman, of the Genoese school.
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