Theseus Finding the Arms of his Father
Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione
Monotype 1643
Size of original and reproduction 302 x 203 mm, 11 7/8 x 8 inches
The online images of this bravura exercise in the direct manipulation of ink do not give a fair representation of the printed image. No-one for at least another two centuries after Castiglione was to so revel in, and exploit so effectively, the oiliness that both printer’s ink and oil paint share.
We offer this print in two options; the dark brown of the original, and a more dramatic black (as shown in the online images).
The mythical Greek hero Theseus had grown up unaware that his father was Aegus, the King of distant Athens. His father had returned to Athens not knowing that Aethra, Theseus’s mother, was pregnant. But just in case he had left his sword and sandals buried under a large rock, instructing Aethra that if she produced a son who could lift the rock, she should send him to Athens, meanwhile keeping everything a secret.
Here at dead of night the huge figure of Theseus lifts the rock watched by his mother, whilst a boy holds a smoky torch to light the scene. So begins Theseus’s long heroic story, leading to his defeat of the Minotaur, his accidentally causing the death of his father, and his reign as King of Athens.
The subject is very rare in art, but Castiglione was very attracted to recondite scenes, whether religious or classical, that took place in near-total darkness. He had already produced an etching and a drawing with different compositions of this subject, but to achieve the strong contrasts between dark and white he sought he was driven to invent the new process of monotype – this appears to be the first or second monotype ever produced.
The process is simple and also cheap, but has the great disadvantage that only a single good impression of the print can be taken. A much weaker second impression can often be added, but no more. Printing ink is rubbed all over a clean copper plate and then removed to produce the white or toned areas. The strong white lines were probably made with the wooden end of a paintbrush, and the many different intermediate tones by dabbing and rubbing with cloth, brush and fingers.
The process remained a curiosity until the nineteenth century, when artists such as Degas began to use it.
Click image to enlarge
Size of reproduction:
302 x 203 mm, 11 7/8 x 8 inches BLACK
Print price:
£42 €63 $67
Size of reproduction:
302 x 203 mm, 11 7/8 x 8 inches BROWN
Print price:
£42.00, €63.00, $67.00
£ and € print prices include UK VAT at 17.5%. No UK VAT on Books.
© The Trustees of the British Museum 2006 PD 1985-12-14-34
