CASTIGLIONE, Giovanni Benedetto
(b. 1609, Genova, d. 1664, Mantova)

Meeting of Isaac and Rebecca

c. 1640
Oil on canvas, 124 x 175 cm
The Hermitage, St. Petersburg

This painting was acquired for the Hermitage in the 18th century as a Castiglione original but later came to be considered a copy. Restoration carried out in the 1960s revealed the artistic merits of the picture, and X-ray analysis confirmed Castiglione's authorship beyond all doubt.