Giovanni Battista Piazzetta, February 13, 1682 or 1683–April 28, 1754, was an Italian painter and draughtsman born in Venice. He trained in the workshop of his father, a woodcarver and sculptor, before studying painting with Antonio Molinari. He continued his studies with Giuseppe Maria Crespi in Bologna.

Piazzetta worked chiefly in Venice and became a member of Bologna’s Accademia Clementina in 1727. In 1750 he was appointed director of the Venetian academy. His pupils included Giuseppe Angeli and Domenico Maggiotto. He collaborated with the engraver Marco Pitteri and the publisher Giovanni Battista Albrizzi.

His paintings and drawings are held by the Gallerie dell’Accademia in Venice, the Louvre Museum, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Ashmolean Museum, and the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza.

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