Giovanni Maria delle Piane
Giovanni Maria delle Piane (1660 – 28 June 1745) was an aristocratic Genovese who served as primary court painter for over 60 years in the late-Baroque period. He is also known as "il Molinaretto". Biography Giovanni Maria was born in Genoa, Italy, the son of Giovanni Battista delle Piane, from the noble house Delle Piane. He was nicknamed the "Molinaretto" as his grandparents, renown land owners from Polcevera, had watermills (from Italian molino, watermill). From the age of 10 till 16 years, he apprenticed with Giovanni Battista Merano, then he transferred to Rome to work under the famed fresco painter, Giovanni Battista Gaulli (il Baciccio), who held him like a son. The Genoese painter Enrico Vaymer was a fellow student and lifelong friend. In the Roman studio of Gaulli, Piane copied the works of great masters like Giulio Romano, Guido Reni, Annibale Carracci and Domenichino. These copies brought him acclaim. At Gaulli's studio, he also painted portraits. In 1684, he returned to Genoa, where the main portrait artist in the city, Giovanni Battista Carlone, had just died. He gained loyalty from other peer aristocratic families, noting he adapted to the new sensitivity, with attention to the fashion of his subjects,