GIOVANNI BATTISTA PIAZZETTA AND EIGHTEENTH CENTURY VENICE
The son of a sculptor, Giovanni Battista Piazzetta (1682-1754) was one of the most important figure painters in eighteenth century Venice. After studying in Bologna under the artist Giuseppe Maria Crespi (1665-1747), Piazzetta established a successful Venetian studio producing large-scale altarpieces and enigmatic genre scenes. Famously slow at painting, he was a prolific draughtsman, and his velvety chalk drawings of heads and half-length figures were highly prized by collectors.
The prevailing taste in Piazzetta's Venice was for bright colours and sparkling blond tonalities. This is exemplified in this room by the work of Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (1696-1770), whose monumental ceiling painting hangs opposite. By contrast, Piazzetta's canvases are characterised by their sombre palette and dramatic lighting effects.
Despite enjoying significant fame in his lifetime, Piazzetta is little known today. Many of his paintings remain in the Venetian churches for which they were painted. The Sacrifice of Isaac is one of only two pictures by the artist in a British public collection.
