Giambettino was born in 1706 in Verona. After having studied with Sante Prunati, he attended with his contemporary Pietro Rotari (born a few months later, in 1707), the painting school of Antonio Balestra. In 1728 he opened his personal painting studio. Like Rotari he moved to Venice, where he had the opportunity to study the great works by masters like Titian, Veronese and Palma il Vecchio. Back in Verona, he permanently opened an atelier and got big hits. He was active in many cities, like Milan, Parma, Turin, Bologna and Ferrara. Although he never moved from Italy, he worked for the Elector of Saxony, King of Poland and the Empress of Russia. Renowned painter, he promoted the construction of the Academy of Art in Verona which he was the first director and that now bears his name. Besides being an accomplished painter, he was also a writer of books of art.(From Wikipedia: http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giambettino_Cignaroli )
