Giuseppe Borsato

1770 – 1849

Italian painter and decorative artist in the Neo-Classical style, active in Venice, last of the great Venetian decorators. He was commissioned by Eugène de Beauharnais in 1807 to coordinate the ornamentation of the halls of the royal palace in the Procuratie Nuove. In the interior Borsato produced a personal and very careful interpretation of the Empire style, clearly influenced by the French architects and interior decorators Percier and Fontaine and the Biedermeier style that then prevailed in most of the major royal courts of Europe. In collaboration with Selva, Borsato completed decorative cycles at Palazzo Albrizzi, Palazzo Persico, and Palazzo Treves. From 1808, he decorated La Fenice opera house, where he was also the official set designer (1809-19). A professor of decoration at the Accademia di Belle Arti, Borsato championed the Empire style, in the interpretation of Percier and Fontaine. He was also a view painter in the manner of Canaletto.

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