0:00:18 > 0:00:21Back in 1985, when I was working for Christie's,
0:00:21 > 0:00:24a major highlight for me was cataloguing a sale
0:00:24 > 0:00:28of spectacular prints from the collection of Chatsworth House.
0:00:30 > 0:00:34This exciting sale was packed full of printmaking gems,
0:00:34 > 0:00:36iconic images by Durer,
0:00:36 > 0:00:39a Rembrandt etching that sold for half a million pounds,
0:00:39 > 0:00:44and yet the one that really leapt out off the page for me was this one
0:00:44 > 0:00:49by the 17th-century Italian artist Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione.
0:00:49 > 0:00:55It's just so bold and daring, dramatic, ahead of its time.
0:00:55 > 0:00:58Yet the extraordinary thing is that until that point
0:00:58 > 0:01:01I had really never come across Castiglione.
0:01:01 > 0:01:05And even today, I'm sure there are many people who've never really heard of him.
0:01:10 > 0:01:14Since then, I've been working with prints and drawings for almost 30 years,
0:01:14 > 0:01:17but I've always held a secret fascination for Castiglione.
0:01:17 > 0:01:21How could someone so brilliant have remained hidden for so long?
0:01:21 > 0:01:24So you can imagine how pleased I am
0:01:24 > 0:01:27that he is now having his first major UK exhibition
0:01:27 > 0:01:31in the Queen's Gallery at Buckingham Palace.
0:01:35 > 0:01:38Castiglione was a master of his art,
0:01:38 > 0:01:41a rival to Rembrandt as the printmaker of the time.
0:01:41 > 0:01:44But he was also a revolutionary,
0:01:44 > 0:01:48technically innovative with a fluid, spontaneous style.
0:01:49 > 0:01:52And he invented a new printing technique
0:01:52 > 0:01:57that has influenced generations of artists right up until today.
0:01:57 > 0:01:59So why did this talented artist
0:01:59 > 0:02:03never become one of the great names of the Italian Baroque?
0:02:03 > 0:02:06New research dug out of archives in Italy
0:02:06 > 0:02:08reveals a turbulent life story,
0:02:08 > 0:02:13involving a long line of criminal acts from assault to murder.
0:02:16 > 0:02:19So here at last is my opportunity
0:02:19 > 0:02:22to find out more about this clearly gifted man
0:02:22 > 0:02:26who exploded onto the art world of 17th-century Italy
0:02:26 > 0:02:30and then vanished almost without trace...until now.
0:02:30 > 0:02:34With exclusive access behind the scenes of the exhibition,
0:02:34 > 0:02:37I'll explore his extraordinary work,
0:02:37 > 0:02:39new discoveries by conservators,
0:02:39 > 0:02:42and the printmaking process he invented
0:02:42 > 0:02:45to understand the question
0:02:45 > 0:02:48at the heart of Castiglione's enigmatic life story.
0:02:48 > 0:02:54Is it our fault that he's been such a genius lost to us...or his?
0:03:09 > 0:03:14Britain has the largest and finest collection of Castiglione's prints
0:03:14 > 0:03:18and drawings in the world, normally kept here at Windsor Castle.
0:03:20 > 0:03:25Bought by King George III over 250 years ago,
0:03:25 > 0:03:28catalogued for the first time in the 1950s,
0:03:28 > 0:03:31many haven't seen the light of day for hundreds of years.
0:03:34 > 0:03:37They are stored in a special library
0:03:37 > 0:03:40that only the senior curators can access.
0:03:40 > 0:03:44It's truly a privilege for me to be surrounded by so many of the best.
0:03:46 > 0:03:51This group of about 250 works on paper by Castiglione
0:03:51 > 0:03:53has been together since the artist's death.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56In fact, they formed part of his own personal studio,
0:03:56 > 0:03:59so it's as close to him as you can get.
0:04:06 > 0:04:09I often find that people dismiss prints and drawings
0:04:09 > 0:04:13as being somehow less interesting, less important than paintings,
0:04:13 > 0:04:16or rank them lower in the pantheon of the visual arts,
0:04:16 > 0:04:20but for me there's something so intimate about prints and drawings.
0:04:20 > 0:04:23These are the artist's thoughts on paper, so it's here
0:04:23 > 0:04:27that we really begin to understand the workings of the artistic mind.
0:04:27 > 0:04:30And Castiglione is a perfect example.
0:04:30 > 0:04:34From these works, I think we'll really get to know him.
0:04:36 > 0:04:40The curators have let me hand-pick a select few pieces
0:04:40 > 0:04:43that will help us get closer to this hot-headed talent.
0:04:46 > 0:04:48It's so lovely to have an opportunity
0:04:48 > 0:04:50to look really closely at this one,
0:04:50 > 0:04:52because it's undoubtedly Castiglione's
0:04:52 > 0:04:54most audacious etching.
0:04:54 > 0:04:57He's called it The Genius of Castiglione.
0:04:57 > 0:05:00And there it is right in the centre of the print.
0:05:00 > 0:05:03And it's not necessarily a self-portrait,
0:05:03 > 0:05:06but he has made a reference to the velvet cap
0:05:06 > 0:05:10and that very showy plume that he was wearing in his self-portrait.
0:05:10 > 0:05:15And that's a symbol of furia, creative energies and imagination.
0:05:15 > 0:05:19In fact, the whole print is full of symbols.
0:05:19 > 0:05:22And what he's done here is he's introduced lots of elements
0:05:22 > 0:05:27that his erudite audience would have taken great pleasure in decodifying.
0:05:27 > 0:05:29So you've got the crown of immortality,
0:05:29 > 0:05:33you've got the palm of victory.
0:05:33 > 0:05:34The central figure
0:05:34 > 0:05:38is the personification of fame with his trumpet.
0:05:38 > 0:05:42Fecundity down here symbolised by the rabbit and the chickens.
0:05:42 > 0:05:44And then the artist's creativity here
0:05:44 > 0:05:46with his palette and his brushes.
0:05:47 > 0:05:50But what he was really doing of course with this etching
0:05:50 > 0:05:54was saying, "Here I am. I'm a genius!"
0:06:02 > 0:06:05So who was this self-proclaimed "genius"
0:06:05 > 0:06:09and how did he become such a trailblazing artist and printmaker?
0:06:12 > 0:06:15Let's go back to the Italian city
0:06:15 > 0:06:19that helped hone his artistic talents...Genoa.
0:06:21 > 0:06:24When we think of the artistic capitals of Italy,
0:06:24 > 0:06:27we think of Venice, Florence, Rome.
0:06:27 > 0:06:29Genoa doesn't usually make it onto that list,
0:06:29 > 0:06:31yet 17th-century Genoa
0:06:31 > 0:06:36was a cosmopolitan melting pot of cultures and communities.
0:06:36 > 0:06:40Nicknamed "La Superba", it was also a city of wealth
0:06:40 > 0:06:45where merchants attracted working artists from Italy and abroad
0:06:45 > 0:06:49to decorate their homes and churches with art.
0:06:51 > 0:06:54As money and talent flowed into the port,
0:06:54 > 0:06:59Castiglione would have been exposed to the emerging and established artists of the day
0:06:59 > 0:07:01and their latest innovations.
0:07:01 > 0:07:05Van Dyck spent several years in Genoa in the 1620s,
0:07:05 > 0:07:06and it's quite possible
0:07:06 > 0:07:10that Castiglione even spent time in his studio.
0:07:16 > 0:07:19Castiglione began to draw in the typical Genoese way.
0:07:20 > 0:07:23This was often bucolic scenes with animals
0:07:23 > 0:07:26or pastoral and patriarchal journeys.
0:07:34 > 0:07:36Castiglione in his early days
0:07:36 > 0:07:39was often dismissed by his peers as a simple animal painter,
0:07:39 > 0:07:41but as his ambitions grew,
0:07:41 > 0:07:46he realised that he needed to move to a bigger artistic centre...Rome.
0:07:46 > 0:07:48He would go on to become somebody
0:07:48 > 0:07:51who was constantly moving from place to place.
0:07:51 > 0:07:56And I almost sense that certain restlessness in his drawing style.
0:07:59 > 0:08:02The beauty of Castiglione's hand
0:08:02 > 0:08:05was the way the images just flew off his brush.
0:08:06 > 0:08:101630s Rome was a daunting place for an ambitious artist.
0:08:10 > 0:08:13It was the time of the Counter-Reformation
0:08:13 > 0:08:17and Pope Urban VIII wanted to bring people back to the Catholic faith
0:08:17 > 0:08:19through religious art.
0:08:19 > 0:08:24This competitive artistic period became known as the Italian Baroque.
0:08:26 > 0:08:30Castiglione was suddenly vying with artistic rivals
0:08:30 > 0:08:33from Italy and the rest of Europe for fame, fortune
0:08:33 > 0:08:37and the great prize of religious or royal patronage.
0:08:37 > 0:08:41Now he had to up his game to survive and stand out.
0:08:55 > 0:08:59Castiglione was very conscious that he was not as classically schooled
0:08:59 > 0:09:01as many of his contemporaries,
0:09:01 > 0:09:05but worked in a very different, less traditional way.
0:09:05 > 0:09:07He didn't really like life drawing, for example,
0:09:07 > 0:09:11which was a staple part of much artistic training.
0:09:11 > 0:09:14He didn't make endless anatomical studies like Leonardo,
0:09:14 > 0:09:17but tended to draw very freely onto the paper,
0:09:17 > 0:09:20his limbs suggested with a flourish.
0:09:20 > 0:09:22And whereas most artists
0:09:22 > 0:09:26used drawings as preparatory studies for their paintings,
0:09:26 > 0:09:29Castiglione's were finished works in their own right.
0:09:35 > 0:09:39So Castiglione was really out on his own with this style.
0:09:42 > 0:09:46But, as legal documents from this time reveal,
0:09:46 > 0:09:48he often had a higher profile
0:09:48 > 0:09:52as a bad-boy troublemaker than as an artist.
0:09:52 > 0:09:58In fact, there's more in the Italian archives about his court appearances than his art commissions.
0:10:00 > 0:10:03One evening in the spring of 1635,
0:10:03 > 0:10:07Castiglione joined his fellow artists at a friend's house.
0:10:07 > 0:10:09It was a customary form of entertainment
0:10:09 > 0:10:13to put on improvised comedies gently sending each other up,
0:10:13 > 0:10:17but this one went too far when the Roman artist Greppi
0:10:17 > 0:10:19mocked Castiglione saying that he
0:10:19 > 0:10:22merely "touched upon the profession of painting".
0:10:22 > 0:10:25Instead of storming out in indignation,
0:10:25 > 0:10:28Castiglione beat Greppi with his fists
0:10:28 > 0:10:31and was then accused of trying to shoot him.
0:10:31 > 0:10:34It's no surprise his biographer, Niccolo Pio,
0:10:34 > 0:10:38noted that Castiglione was "more feared than loved".
0:10:40 > 0:10:43There's a really shocking manuscript here from the Italian archives
0:10:43 > 0:10:46based on a court case against Castiglione,
0:10:46 > 0:10:51where it describes how he left Rome and fled to Genoa in such a hurry
0:10:51 > 0:10:53that he forgot to take anything with him.
0:10:53 > 0:10:58So the witness records how he had to lend Castiglione everything,
0:10:58 > 0:11:02from pots and pans, to laundry, to bed sheets,
0:11:02 > 0:11:06to various items of clothing...including his underpants.
0:11:06 > 0:11:08He must have been in a hurry to leave without those.
0:11:08 > 0:11:12But the accusation was murder.
0:11:12 > 0:11:14He certainly looks pretty guilty.
0:11:18 > 0:11:22These documents are really letting me get to know Castiglione's character.
0:11:24 > 0:11:28The combination of beauty and violence does feed into the page.
0:11:30 > 0:11:34There's a sense of a tortured mind putting pen to paper,
0:11:34 > 0:11:38particularly when he began to tackle more complex subject matter
0:11:38 > 0:11:40like allegory and mythology.
0:11:43 > 0:11:48There's perhaps a hint of the darker side of Castiglione's personality in this one,
0:11:48 > 0:11:50which shows Circe
0:11:50 > 0:11:54who's just transformed the companions of Odysseus into animals.
0:11:54 > 0:11:57And that theme of transformation
0:11:57 > 0:11:59was quite an important one to Castiglione,
0:11:59 > 0:12:02because it underlines the fragility of human existence.
0:12:02 > 0:12:04One moment there are soldiers in armour
0:12:04 > 0:12:08and the next moment they're gone and it's just the armour discarded.
0:12:08 > 0:12:10And there are a whole lot of animals here.
0:12:10 > 0:12:13And, actually, Castiglione's put his own touch on it here,
0:12:13 > 0:12:15his own sense of humour,
0:12:15 > 0:12:18because he's added the monkey, the tortoise, the rabbit,
0:12:18 > 0:12:22which is rather lovely, it brings him back to his subject matter he's comfortable with.
0:12:22 > 0:12:26But there's also the scary face here on the left
0:12:26 > 0:12:29balancing out the whole composition.
0:12:29 > 0:12:32And that's really what appeals to me about this one,
0:12:32 > 0:12:36it's the combination of the beauty and the torment in one image.
0:12:38 > 0:12:41And it appealed to audiences at the time, too.
0:12:41 > 0:12:44Despite his volatile personality,
0:12:44 > 0:12:48Castiglione was becoming a successful artist.
0:12:48 > 0:12:49He was soon back in Rome
0:12:49 > 0:12:52confidently developing his own style.
0:12:54 > 0:12:57Deep inside the core of Windsor Castle,
0:12:57 > 0:13:02I've been granted special access to see Castiglione's work in a new way.
0:13:12 > 0:13:16Normally prints and drawings are kept mounted and protected,
0:13:16 > 0:13:19but I've come to see some of them in the conservation studio.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26I still find it really thrilling to get up so close
0:13:26 > 0:13:30to a beautiful piece of 17th-century paper like this.
0:13:30 > 0:13:34This is Venus and Adonis and it's a pen and ink drawing
0:13:34 > 0:13:36with his characteristic dogs on the left here.
0:13:38 > 0:13:40But what's remarkable to me
0:13:40 > 0:13:43is the effect he's achieved with just pen and ink,
0:13:43 > 0:13:46because you can see these cross-hatched lines there
0:13:46 > 0:13:48really suggest the light and shade.
0:13:48 > 0:13:52But there's something even more special about this sheet.
0:13:56 > 0:13:59When the conservators were preparing for this exhibition,
0:13:59 > 0:14:02they discovered on the reverse of the sheet
0:14:02 > 0:14:06a drawing that hadn't been seen for 250 years.
0:14:06 > 0:14:08And here it is.
0:14:08 > 0:14:11It looks like the design for a tomb perhaps,
0:14:11 > 0:14:13which does suggest that Castiglione
0:14:13 > 0:14:15was busy working on many different projects.
0:14:17 > 0:14:19And it's rather wonderful that we can go on
0:14:19 > 0:14:22discovering new things about him from these drawings.
0:14:27 > 0:14:30What was really revolutionary about Castiglione
0:14:30 > 0:14:33was that he didn't only draw with pen and ink on paper,
0:14:33 > 0:14:36but he also drew with a brush and oil on paper,
0:14:36 > 0:14:39which was really unusual.
0:14:40 > 0:14:44And look at this sheet. It gets so many techniques in here.
0:14:44 > 0:14:47The lighter stroke, the drier stroke,
0:14:47 > 0:14:50it's really painting and drawing merged into one.
0:14:50 > 0:14:53And this was a really quick technique
0:14:53 > 0:14:56that was obviously very suited to a quick mind.
0:14:58 > 0:15:00There was no other artist
0:15:00 > 0:15:05exploring oil and paper like he was in the 17th century.
0:15:06 > 0:15:11At this time, Castiglione could be confident of his talent and ambition.
0:15:11 > 0:15:14But he still didn't have an official court patron,
0:15:14 > 0:15:18so he needed to keep selling himself to stand out.
0:15:18 > 0:15:21Prints were a great advert for an artist's work and status.
0:15:21 > 0:15:25And one of the most influential print publishers in Rome, De' Rossi,
0:15:25 > 0:15:28was keen to spread Castiglione's work
0:15:28 > 0:15:31to his circle of erudite print buyers.
0:15:31 > 0:15:35By the 17th century the print trade was flourishing
0:15:35 > 0:15:39and one fellow printmaker really caught Castiglione's eye...
0:15:39 > 0:15:41Rembrandt.
0:15:41 > 0:15:45Castiglione was hugely inspired by Rembrandt
0:15:45 > 0:15:49and was one of the first known artists in Italy to be influenced by him.
0:15:49 > 0:15:53He was particularly drawn to Rembrandt's use of tenebrism,
0:15:53 > 0:15:58a tonal effect using dramatic contrasts of light and dark.
0:15:58 > 0:16:03Castiglione became known as the second Rembrandt of his day,
0:16:03 > 0:16:05but he didn't stop there.
0:16:05 > 0:16:10He set himself apart from his rivals this time with a new invention.
0:16:10 > 0:16:13Rembrandt was a master of printmaking,
0:16:13 > 0:16:18but once again Castiglione worked in a defiantly different way.
0:16:18 > 0:16:19Etching is a rigorous discipline
0:16:19 > 0:16:23and Rembrandt worked at his plates over and over again,
0:16:23 > 0:16:26creating several different states of each plate.
0:16:26 > 0:16:29But Castiglione tended to etch his plates all in one go
0:16:29 > 0:16:31and then just print them.
0:16:31 > 0:16:34What he really wanted was something
0:16:34 > 0:16:37that was less methodical but more spontaneous.
0:16:37 > 0:16:38And this led him
0:16:38 > 0:16:43to devise his own completely new technique...the monotype.
0:16:52 > 0:16:54For someone like me who loves prints,
0:16:54 > 0:16:58it's Castiglione's experimentation and invention
0:16:58 > 0:17:00of a whole new technique that's so fascinating.
0:17:00 > 0:17:04It's all about the materials, the paper and the inks
0:17:04 > 0:17:08and the artist's skill in using the relationship between the two.
0:17:08 > 0:17:11So to see the process in action,
0:17:11 > 0:17:14I have come to see artist Hughie O'Donoghue,
0:17:14 > 0:17:18who's currently engaged in making a monotype here at Paupers Press.
0:17:18 > 0:17:20Hughie's created a design
0:17:20 > 0:17:25inspired by a horse's skull detail from a Castiglione print.
0:17:25 > 0:17:30- How's it coming along? Rather well by the look of things.- Very well, thanks.
0:17:30 > 0:17:35So what is it for you about a monotype that is so appealing?
0:17:35 > 0:17:38Well, it's... A monotype is unique,
0:17:38 > 0:17:40it's a one-off, it's one impression,
0:17:40 > 0:17:42so there's a kind of risk with that.
0:17:42 > 0:17:45- So it comes straight out of what you're thinking.- It does.
0:17:45 > 0:17:48Yeah, you've quickly got to sort of manipulate the ink.
0:17:48 > 0:17:51And you manipulate the ink like you would handle paint.
0:17:51 > 0:17:54So how long have you been working on that one, say?
0:17:54 > 0:17:57- Erm...probably been working about 20 minutes.- Oh, really?- Yes.
0:17:57 > 0:18:00- I see. So it really is quick?- It is.
0:18:00 > 0:18:01But with a monotype,
0:18:01 > 0:18:04you've got nothing on the plate other than the ink.
0:18:04 > 0:18:07The links between the monotype and a painting are very strong.
0:18:07 > 0:18:11With a painting you get a build-up of layers,
0:18:11 > 0:18:15with the monotype there's all sorts of things that you can do
0:18:15 > 0:18:18by sort of pulling the brush across the surface,
0:18:18 > 0:18:21and the way the brush breaks in parts
0:18:21 > 0:18:24and you get an uneven line, all these things provide...
0:18:24 > 0:18:27- Different textures?- Textures and interest.
0:18:27 > 0:18:30I'm not just thinking, "Well, this is a horse's skull." Well, yeah, it is a horse's skull,
0:18:30 > 0:18:33but it's also an aluminium plate with ink on it.
0:18:33 > 0:18:38- So I'm looking at the abstract forms, shapes and patterns.- Yes! And coaxing an image out of it.
0:18:38 > 0:18:43Absolutely. And...so that's part of the process.
0:18:43 > 0:18:49And when I start, I don't know necessarily what it's going to be like.
0:18:49 > 0:18:52So there's an element of the unknown and surprise, is there?
0:18:52 > 0:18:54- Is that how it works?- That is how it works.
0:18:54 > 0:18:58And I want fluidity and a natural feel to it.
0:18:58 > 0:19:00You know, if you drop turps...
0:19:00 > 0:19:04- some of this mixture into the surface...- Oh, yes.
0:19:04 > 0:19:08- ..this will again affect how...- Oh, yes, look!
0:19:08 > 0:19:11- I see, it lifts it off.- Yeah, it lifts it off.
0:19:11 > 0:19:14You can work back into your image.
0:19:14 > 0:19:17And this, of course, would have been interesting for Castiglione
0:19:17 > 0:19:21if he's working, trying to create tenebrist,
0:19:21 > 0:19:25- chiaroscuro effects, light and dark. - Yes, because it's mottled.
0:19:25 > 0:19:29Yeah, absolutely. It's not...a science,
0:19:29 > 0:19:35it requires an intuitive...response to the medium.
0:19:35 > 0:19:38- You've got to feel the medium.- That's a really good way of thinking about it.
0:19:38 > 0:19:41- So you have to be in quite a brave mood, in a way, to make a monotype. - Yes.
0:19:41 > 0:19:46- Either that or...- Reckless.- Reckless. Yeah, well, I do lots of reckless.
0:19:49 > 0:19:53Castiglione's new invention in the 1640s meant that artists
0:19:53 > 0:19:56could now draw or paint ink straight onto a plate
0:19:56 > 0:20:00without engraving and simply print a one-off design.
0:20:04 > 0:20:09There are only 20 known monotypes by Castiglione anywhere in the world,
0:20:09 > 0:20:11so it's such a privilege for me
0:20:11 > 0:20:14to be able to be here with three of the finest from the Royal Collection.
0:20:16 > 0:20:18And what it tells me about Castiglione
0:20:18 > 0:20:21is that he just loved paper and ink,
0:20:21 > 0:20:25because it's a combination of painting and drawing and printmaking.
0:20:25 > 0:20:29And look, here he's used it in a positive way,
0:20:29 > 0:20:33so he's drawn onto a copper plate and printed from that with ink.
0:20:33 > 0:20:35And then he's done it in reverse,
0:20:35 > 0:20:39the negative technique, where he's painted over the copper plate with black ink
0:20:39 > 0:20:42and then scraped out the highlights with a blunt instrument.
0:20:42 > 0:20:46And in this one here, he's combined the two,
0:20:46 > 0:20:50so that you get the image that's been painted onto the plate
0:20:50 > 0:20:53and then he's scraped off the highlights and then even added
0:20:53 > 0:20:57some brushwork and some wash behind to give it real depth.
0:20:57 > 0:20:59So this was a real coming together
0:20:59 > 0:21:02of everything he'd worked with before.
0:21:02 > 0:21:05He was a real pioneer of this technique.
0:21:37 > 0:21:39LAUGHTER
0:21:39 > 0:21:42- Here you go.- Cheers.- See what you can do with that.- Hmm!
0:21:45 > 0:21:46So this is a really big moment,
0:21:46 > 0:21:49because we only get one chance at this, don't we?
0:21:49 > 0:21:51We get one chance and, hopefully,
0:21:51 > 0:21:56- we'll get a print out of it that's acceptable. Hope so.- No pressure.
0:22:01 > 0:22:02So you have a pretty good idea
0:22:02 > 0:22:05- of how it's going to translate onto paper, do you?- Yes.
0:22:05 > 0:22:09I'd say so, yeah. Usually, if it looks OK on the plate,
0:22:09 > 0:22:11- it'll look all right on the paper. - Hmm.
0:22:25 > 0:22:27Oh, look at that!
0:22:27 > 0:22:29That's wonderful!
0:22:29 > 0:22:32- Look at all those different tones. - It's quite liquid, yeah.
0:22:32 > 0:22:38- Isn't it?- This area here, this is absolutely typical monotype feel
0:22:38 > 0:22:42to not just Castiglione but many artists who've used monotype.
0:22:42 > 0:22:46You get that sense of the sort of tones being fragmented
0:22:46 > 0:22:49and, you know, the sense of a brush
0:22:49 > 0:22:54- as opposed to...a needle or a marker. - Hmm.
0:22:54 > 0:22:57I mean, it's very fluid and...
0:22:58 > 0:23:01..although it's derived from the Castiglione,
0:23:01 > 0:23:03- it's my own...not his.- Yes!
0:23:03 > 0:23:05Quite right.
0:23:07 > 0:23:10Well, for me, one of the things that struck me about Castiglione
0:23:10 > 0:23:12was how modern he looked.
0:23:12 > 0:23:14For me, the word would be "timeless",
0:23:14 > 0:23:17I feel that they have a timeless quality to them.
0:23:17 > 0:23:20That's partly to do with the fact that they're very rooted in drawing.
0:23:20 > 0:23:22They're very fresh and to our modern eye
0:23:22 > 0:23:26they appear not distant, not unapproachable.
0:23:31 > 0:23:33The monotype didn't actually re-emerge
0:23:33 > 0:23:35until the 19th century with Degas,
0:23:35 > 0:23:38who refined the effects of spontaneity and light
0:23:38 > 0:23:42to express the secretive drama of his intimate scenes.
0:23:46 > 0:23:49And then a long line of modern masters followed
0:23:49 > 0:23:52including Gauguin, Picasso.
0:23:52 > 0:23:55The list carries on up until today.
0:23:55 > 0:23:59Monotypes may seem timeless, but it's important to remember
0:23:59 > 0:24:03that Castiglione invented and experimented with this technique
0:24:03 > 0:24:07250 years before the next artists would pick it up.
0:24:07 > 0:24:10I still find that incredible.
0:24:10 > 0:24:13He really was ahead of his time.
0:24:19 > 0:24:21So what went wrong?
0:24:21 > 0:24:25Why wasn't Castiglione's talent and legacy remembered and recognised?
0:24:26 > 0:24:29The new recasting of Castiglione's character
0:24:29 > 0:24:33often comes from legal battles and witness statements.
0:24:33 > 0:24:38He's constantly in and out of court, moving around Italy or on the run.
0:24:40 > 0:24:42By the end of Castiglione's life
0:24:42 > 0:24:45even his own lawyer had turned on him,
0:24:45 > 0:24:48bringing 78 counts against him.
0:24:48 > 0:24:51Various misdemeanours he's been accused of,
0:24:51 > 0:24:53including throwing his sister off a roof.
0:24:53 > 0:24:58And each time he asks, "Is this a man that can be trusted?"
0:24:58 > 0:25:01"Si possa chiamare l'uomo da bene?"
0:25:07 > 0:25:12By the time he died in 1664 in Mantua,
0:25:12 > 0:25:16Castiglione's violent personality and constant court battles
0:25:16 > 0:25:18had denied him official patronage
0:25:18 > 0:25:21and obscured his artistic brilliance.
0:25:21 > 0:25:23It would be a long journey
0:25:23 > 0:25:26for his works to get to where they are today.
0:25:26 > 0:25:30As an art historian, I'm always really interested
0:25:30 > 0:25:33in how things literally got to where they are now.
0:25:33 > 0:25:35So this group of Castiglione's work
0:25:35 > 0:25:39probably ended up in the collection of the Dukes of Mantua,
0:25:39 > 0:25:44from here they were bought by the great Italian connoisseur collector, Sagredo,
0:25:44 > 0:25:48and then in turn by the great British collector, Joseph Smith,
0:25:48 > 0:25:51who was consul in Venice in the mid-18th century
0:25:51 > 0:25:55and also happened to be Canaletto's art agent.
0:25:55 > 0:25:58In 1762, King George III
0:25:58 > 0:26:01bought Joseph Smith's huge personal art collection
0:26:01 > 0:26:05to decorate his new home, Buckingham House.
0:26:08 > 0:26:11The Castiglione prints were buried in albums
0:26:11 > 0:26:13and catalogued as being of "no value".
0:26:15 > 0:26:17But finally his works were dug out
0:26:17 > 0:26:21and catalogued by a fellow rogue, the Soviet spy Anthony Blunt,
0:26:21 > 0:26:25who was Surveyor of the King's Pictures from the 1940s.
0:26:28 > 0:26:31And now that his story has been uncovered,
0:26:31 > 0:26:36perhaps the reputation of this lost genius will be restored.
0:26:36 > 0:26:39So here I am back in the exhibition.
0:26:39 > 0:26:43And it's wonderful to see the best collection of Castiglione's works
0:26:43 > 0:26:45on paper anywhere in the world
0:26:45 > 0:26:50hung altogether in the Queen's Gallery at Buckingham Palace.
0:26:50 > 0:26:53He's finally getting the recognition he deserves
0:26:58 > 0:27:02as a master of the Italian Baroque and as the inventor of the monotype.
0:27:06 > 0:27:08I always think you can get so much
0:27:08 > 0:27:11out of simply looking at works on paper.
0:27:11 > 0:27:15And with all we now know about Castiglione's fiery character,
0:27:15 > 0:27:17it's all the more gratifying to see them
0:27:17 > 0:27:20hanging here in these elegant galleries,
0:27:20 > 0:27:24his talent, his trailblazing techniques,
0:27:24 > 0:27:28his tormented temperament all rolled into one.
0:27:32 > 0:27:36I don't think that this genius will be lost for much longer.
0:27:45 > 0:27:48And there is something rather satisfying about this rogue
0:27:48 > 0:27:52having made it back to the heart of the establishment in his own way.
0:27:52 > 0:27:56He certainly thought he was a genius and I think I'd agree with him.
0:27:56 > 0:27:59A devilish and unconventional one maybe,
0:27:59 > 0:28:02but that just makes me love him all the more.
0:28:07 > 0:28:10Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd