Natale Schiavoni

Natale Schiavoni trained at the Academy of Venice as a pupil of Francesco Maggiotto and then in Florence with Raffaelo Morghen. He took up portrait painting and travelled to Trieste, where he developed his miniature portrait technique, which was very popular at the time.

In 1808, he settled in Milan until 1815, where he perfected his drawing skills and became friends with Andrea Appiani and Luigi Sabatelli. Francis I of Austria called him to the Viennese court, where he was commissioned to paint numerous miniature portraits and paintings of female subjects and odalisques inspired by the Renaissance, earning him the nickname Pittore delle grazie ("The painter of graces") from his contemporaries.

In 1821, he settled permanently in Chioggia, where he devoted to the study of painting while continuing to travel to Austria and Germany. In 1840 he was nominated professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice and bought the Palazzo Giustiniani.