Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione, il Grechetto Genoa 1609-1665 Mantua

Circe was a favorite subject of Castiglione in the early 1650s. Large-scale paintings of this theme, replete with extravagant animal and still life elements, can be found in the collection of the Museo Poldi Pezzoli, Milan; the Sanguineti collection, Genoa; and the Sovrano collection, Malta, among others. This small painting is likely a study for those works.