Pietro Antonio Rotari (September 30, 1707, Verona – August 31, 1762, St. Petersburg), well-traveled Italian painter. During his career he lived and worked in Venice, Rome, Naples, and Vienna. He was also resident in Dresden, where he painted portraits of the family of Augustus III of Poland. And, most importantly, he worked at the courts of both Empresses Elizabeth and Catherine II in St. Petersburg, where he died at the age of fifty-four.
Besides his court commissions, Rotari was also known for his genre portraits of young girls. His girls are sleepy and sensual and, in their pose and expression, distinctly flirtatious. Perhaps even more than flirtatious....
And one boy....
