Plate 12: A young man leaning on a staff looking outward, with an old man behind to his right; from 'Icones ad vivum expressae' after Giovanni Battista Piazzetta 1743

Giovanni Cattini created this print, Plate 12, after Giovanni Battista Piazzetta, around the mid to late 1700s. The composition centres on two figures, a young man in the foreground and an older man partially visible behind him, rendered in fine lines that create a striking contrast between light and shadow. The younger man leans casually on a staff, his gaze directed outwards, while the older man's profile suggests a reflective, inward focus. Cattini's use of hatching and cross-hatching meticulously models the contours of their faces, conveying texture and depth. These precise engraving techniques invite us to consider the semiotic elements at play, with the characters acting as signs within a visual structure. The artwork prompts questions about the relationship between youth and age, or the interplay between outward appearance and inner thought, challenging viewers to consider shifting cultural meanings of identity and representation.