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Overview
Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione (1609-1664) was an Italian Baroque artist, painter, printmaker and draftsman of the Genoese school. He is best known now for his elaborate etchings and engravings, as well as being the inventor of the printmaking technique of monotyping.
His etchings are remarkable for light and shade, and have even earned for Castiglione the name of a second Rembrandt. He was exposed to Rembrandt's etching by 1630. He depicted portraits, historical and devotional pieces (as here) as well as landscapes, but chiefly excelled in fairs, markets and rural scenes with animals, responding to the influence of Flemish artists.
In this etching, God the Father and angels gaze at the new-born Christ held by the Virgin. The imagery of this Nativity is unusual in having God the Father joining the adoration of his son. This is a quintessentially Baroque image, miraculous yet tender and accessible. The slight fuzziness of this impression enhances its other-worldly qualities: heavenly special effects and massive, broken architectural columns.
See:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giovanni_Benedetto_Castiglione
Dr Mark Stocker Curator, Historical International Art June 2017