Volpato, Giovanni

Volpato, Giovanni a distinguished Italian designer and engraver, was born at Bassano in 1738. He first practiced tapestry embroidery having learned it from his mother; at the same time, however, he occasionally practiced engraving without any regular instruction, and the success of his efforts in this line induced him to adopt engraving as a profession he settled at Venice-and entered the school of Bartfolozzi, afterwards went to Rome, and was employed by a society of dilettanti, who undertook to re-engrave all the works of Raphael in the Vatican. Volpato engraved on a large scale seven of the great works of Raphael in the stanze of the Vatican. They were published both in colors and plain, and form a splendid and valuable set of engravings. He was employed by Gavin Hamilton upon his Schola Italica Picture, and published many prints after the celebrated Italian masters, among which are the Farnese Gallery, after Annlibale Caracci; two Prophets and two Sibyls, after Michael Angelo. He died at Rome in 1803. Among the very many works of his hand we mention only the following: Christ Praying on the Mount, after Correggio: —Mary Magdalene at the Feet of Christ, after Paul Veronese: the Marriage of Cana, after Tintoretto: —and St. Peter Delivered from Prison, after Raphael. See Spooner, Biog. Hist. of the Fine Arts, s.v.