Francesco Fontebasso

1707–1769, Venice

Francesco Fontebasso was not only one of the most brilliant and sought-after painters of the Venetian nobiltà, but also a very gifted and versatile draughtsman whose works show a great stylistic diversity. In the 1740s Fontebasso’s style, which was profoundly indebted to the art of Sebastiano Ricci and Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, reached its artistic and creative culmination.