Genova 1616 - about 1665 Mantova

Circe Changing Odysseus’ Men into Beasts, about 1651

Etching

217 x 307 mm.; 8 1/2 x 12 1/8 inches

Watermark:An unidentified watermark

Reference:

Bartsch 22

Notes:

1. A fine impression of one of the major prints produced in seventeenth-century Italy.

2. Ann Percy (Castiglione, Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1971) points out that in this etching as well as in Castiglione’s Noah and the Animals Entering the Ark, the use of Rembrandtesque chiaroscuro is rather tight and dense in comparison to the more diffuse and evocative effects of the etchings of the late forties. Percy concludes that this etching fits in somewhere after the mid-fifties.

3. It is to be noted that the book at Circe’s feet seems to be covered with astrological symbols and that there appears to be a magic wand in her hand. As told by Thomas Bulfinch in his essay "Odysseus and Circe" (from: Encyclopedia Mythica, edition 1995), Circe, daughter of the sun, was a sorceress best known for her ability to turn men into animals with her wand and renowned for her knowledge of magic and poisonous herbs. It also seems that she had powers for spiritual purification and it was she who purified the Argonauts in preparation for the murder of Apsyrtus. Circe is particularly remembered for her encounter with Odysseus and his men. After Odysseus landed in Aeaea, his crew later met with Circe and were turned into pigs. Circe’s spells, however, had no effect on Odysseus who earlier was given an herb by Hermes to resist her power. Circe realizing that she was powerless over him lifted the spell from the crew and welcomed them into her home. Circe and Odysseus eventually bore a child together named Telegonus who later ruled over the Tyrsenians.

4. Russell and Barnes (H. Diane Russell with Bernardine Barnes, Eva/Ave: Women in Renaissance and Baroque Prints, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Feminist Press at the City of New York, 1990: p. 171) refer to Sueda Manning’s essay "The Transformation of Circe: The Significance of the Sorceress Subject in 17th Century Genovese Painting" (Scritti di storia dell’arte in onore de Federico Zeri, Electa Editrice-The J. Paul Getty Trust, 1984). Sueda Manning sees here "the beginning of Castiglione’s amalgamation of the sorceress theme with that of the Vanitas theme...Castiglione’s message comes to center on the futility of all human endeavors, as time destroys even the powers of the sorceress."