Giovanni Volpato (1740-1803), Francesco Magiotto (1632-1705), ASTROLOGIST (W/G IMAGE BY FRANCESCA MAGIOTTA), 18th century.

copperplate-finished etching/Venetian ribbed paper, 37.9 x 29.1 cm (plate), 32.9 x 27.0 cm (composition)
inscriptions in the margin at the bottom, left: Fran.co Magiotto inv.; right: Gio Volpato Sculp.Apud Nic. Cavalli Venettis; middle title: L'Astrologo

Giovanni Volpato was one of the most famous and versatile reproduction engravers of the eighteenth century, ranked among the best Venetian artists. He trained in the famous studio of Giovanni Battista Remondini. He used etching, sometimes refined with the stylus. After an extremely creative and interesting Venetian period, he moved to Rome, where he engraved, among other things, Raphael's Vatican Loggias and paintings by the most eminent masters of Italian painting The work on display is from the "Arti per via" series of etchings, created during a period of very intense collaboration with Francesco Magiotto, a well-known painter of the time. The work was published in the Venetian publishing house of Niccolo Cavalli. The print on display is an excellent example of high technical and artistic reproduction engraving and excellent state of preservation.
The astrologer of the title is engaged in chiromancy, or palm divination. This was a popular practice in the 18th century. Next to the street fortune teller lies an open book. It is a physiognomic treatise for reading character traits from facial features.