or Giambattista Piazzetta
born Feb. 13, 1682, Venice
died April 28, 1754, Venice
Italian painter, illustrator, and designer.
Trained as a wood carver by his father, he turned to painting and became one of the outstanding Venetian artists of the 18th century. His art evolved from Italian Baroque traditions of the 17th century to the Rococo style . He had a strong influence on the young Giovanni Battista Tiepolo at the time he painted the finest of his early religious works, St. James Led to Martyrdom (1722). His most popular work is the celebrated Fortune Teller (1740). On the founding of the Venetian Academy in 1750, he was made its first director.