A Young Man Embracing a Girl c. 1743

Giovanni Battista Piazzetta made this drawing, A Young Man Embracing a Girl, using charcoal and white chalk on gray paper. In 18th-century Venice, Piazzetta ran a private academy. He was eventually appointed director of the Venetian Academy, signaling his institutional influence. His drawings like this one were collected by connoisseurs, often for their own sake rather than as studies for paintings. This drawing is both sensual and chaste, embodying the emotional aesthetic valued by collectors in the period. Piazzetta created an appealing, soft image through his skillful use of contrasting black charcoal and white chalk. For a deeper understanding of Piazzetta’s work, one could examine period account books and collector's ledgers to better understand the reception and function of such imagery. The social history of art is about understanding how art exists not in isolation but within a network of cultural and economic relations.