Giovanni Antonio Guardi

Giovanni Antonio Guardi (Vienna, 1699 – Venice, 1760), also known as Gianantonio Guardi, was an Italian painter of noble Trentino descent and one of the founders of the Venetian Academy of Fine Arts in 1756. His significance lies in his role within Venetian Rococo, a style in which he worked alongside his brothers and which placed him among the city's leading painters.

He learned the craft from his father, Domenico Guardi, and on his death inherited the family workshop, which he shared with his brothers Francesco and Niccolò. He specialised in sacred subjects and in copies after celebrated masters. Much of the workshop's output was a joint effort, so it is hard to separate his personal contribution. He is probably responsible for the scenes from the story of Tobias in the church of San Raffaele Arcangelo in Venice and for the altarpiece in the church of San Vicente mártir at Cerete Basso.

In his early years his important patron was Johann Matthias von der Schulenburg, for whom he produced numerous paintings with Orientalist themes. His output also includes easel paintings of Turkish-inspired interiors made for private decoration. His sister Cecilia married Giambattista Tiepolo, the dominant figure of Venetian painting of the period. Francesco Casanova was among his pupils.