Young Man with Baretta with his Head in His Hands c. 1735 - 1740

Giovanni Battista Piazzetta made this drawing with charcoal and chalk, in Venice, sometime in the first half of the 18th century. It depicts a young man resting his head in his hands. Drawings like this one reflect a change in the structure of art institutions. The Accademia di Venezia, founded in 1766, was one of the earliest state-sponsored art academies. It was designed to promote a particular style of art and teach students how to emulate it. Piazzetta, who became director of the Accademia, was part of the generation that helped to formalize art education. Drawings like this one were made as examples for students to copy. We can still see the traces of this institutional setting in the drawing itself. The model is posed to show off his mastery of anatomy, and the chiaroscuro lighting emphasizes the drama of the scene. To understand the drawing fully, we can consult the records of the Accademia and the writings of Piazzetta himself. We can appreciate the role of art as an expression of social and institutional values.