18th century Italian school, after the work of GIOVANNI BATTISTA PIAZZETTA (Venice, 1682-1754). "Saint Aloysius Gonzaga". Engraving Marcos Pelli. It presents humidities and faults. Size: 47 x 38 cm; 57 x 47 cm (frame). The best known image of Luis Gonzaga, patron of the youth, is the one where he prays before the crucifix, with the lily of purity in his hand. Giovanni Battista Piazzetta was a Venetian Rococo painter of religious scenes and genre scenes, and was the son of the sculptor Giacomo Piazzetta, from whom he learned the art of wood carving in his early years. In 1697 he began his training as a pupil of Antonio Molinari and later moved to Bologna. He remained there between 1704 and 1705 and furthered his training in the workshop of Giuseppe Maria Crespi, although there is no record of any formal tutelage. However, through Crespi Piazzetta was influenced by Carlo Cignani, and the Venetian artist also learned from Crespi`s painting, in which Caravaggio`s chiaroscuro is transformed into a language of graceful charm that surrounds the protagonists of his paintings, popular figures taken from everyday life. In Bologna Piazzetta was also impressed by Guercino`s paintings. Around 1710 he returned to Venice, where he soon acquired great fame. In his mature years he developed an art characterised by a warm, rich chromaticism and a lyricism with a certain air of mystery. He often depicted peasants in his works, even dressed in rich clothing. He was particularly original in the intensity of colour he used in his shadows, as well as in the almost supernatural quality with which he endowed his lights, even achieving an impression of three-dimensionality in his paintings. His charcoal drawings are also notable, especially those of groups of heads or figures. He also produced a number of engravings. In 1750 Piazzetta was appointed director of the newly founded Scuola di Nudo and devoted the last years of his life to teaching. Previously, in 1727, he had been appointed a member of the Accademia Clementina in Bologna. He is now represented in the Accademia Gallery in Venice, the Louvre, the National Gallery and Royal Collection in London, the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., the J. Paul Getty in Los Angeles, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Metropolitan Museum in New York, the Pinacoteca Civica di Vicenza, the Albertina in Vienna, the Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid and many others.