Biography

The Venetian painter Pittoni enjoyed a long, prolific and successful career. Although not as dazzling as his contemporary Tiepolo, he was, nevertheless, admired for his light-filled history paintings, dramatic altarpieces and depictions of secular subjects. He probably trained first with his uncle, Francesco, a rather mediocre artist, but was able to build on the legacy of Titian, Tintoretto and Veronese. He became skilled in restoring old master paintings and looked after paintings belonging to the Venetian State. He was a founder member of the Venetian Academy in 1756 and became its President in 1758 and 1763.