Giovanni David

Giovanni David, an 18th-century Italian painter and engraver, was born in Cabella Ligure in 1743 and died in Genoa in 1790. Son of Paolo, a textile decorator, he began his artistic career as a textile designer alongside his father. Thanks to the patronage of the powerful Genoese Durazzo family, in 1770 he moved to Rome to study with master Domenico Corvi, staying until 1775, the year he won the Balestra Prize from the Academy of San Luca. During this Roman period, influenced by the ruinistic taste, he likely contributed to important frescoes such as the Triumph of Apollo in Palazzo Borghese. Subsequently, at the invitation of Gerolamo Durazzo, he went to Venice in 1774, where he drew inspiration from the Carnival to create a series of 12 engravings on the population of Padua and Venice, showcasing his versatility as a painter, engraver, set designer, and creator of wax models across Liguria, Piedmont, and Veneto.