On this day in 1682 (or maybe 1683), the great Italian Rococo painter Giovanni Battista Piazzetta was born. He started off as a Baroque painter, but moved in the direction of the more open and and free-wheeling style of Rococo. Most of his work was scene painting. He did both religious and secular work. So let me present an example of each.

First is Idyll at the Coast. It was painted rather late in his career in 1741. But despite the fact that it is nominally a landscape, the focus is all on the people. And then there is the whimsical touch of the cow peaking its head in — like the 18th century equivalent of photo bombing. Of course, Rococo was known for its wit and I think we see rather a lot of it in this painting:

Here is The Assumption of Mary from 1735. What I especially like about this is how the painting gets lighter the closer we get to heaven. It’s a really beautiful piece:

Happy birthday Giovanni Battista Piazzetta!