St Elizabeth Distributing Alms

religious

This lively small picture was a sketch for the altarpiece of the castle chapel of the Teutonic Knights at Mergentheim, commissioned by Clement August, Elector of Cologne, in 1734. The innumerable versions and copies in existence (Augsburg, City Museum; Bremen, Kunsthalle; Munich, Salzburg, private collections, etc. ) indicate that Pittoni's composition was extremely popular and imitated by many German and Austrian painters.

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About the Artist

Giambattista Pittoni

1687 – 1767

Venetian painter of religious, historical, and mythological pictures. He was very popular in his day and ranks as one of the best contemporaries of Tiepolo, whom he succeeded as President of the Venice Academy of Painting, 1758-61. Pittoni never left Italy, but he nevertheless received important foreign commissions from the Swedish, Austrian, and German courts. His early work was much indebted to Piazzetta and Sebastiano Ricci, but his style later became lighter and more colourful under the influence of Tiepolo.

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