DAVID, John (1743-1790). Divers portraits graves a l'eau-forte et dedies a M. Dominique Corvi, famous peintre. Venice, 1775. Rare complete series, in excellent state of conservation and at full margins, of the Divers Portraits dedicated to the painter Domenico Corvi (1721-1803), master of John David during his Roman stay. The twelve figures, all inspired by the daily life of Venice and its surroundings, give back with refined sensitivity the theatricality, the taste for disguise and the lively popular costume that characterized the Venetian society of the eighteenth century. In the lower part of each print appear satirical quotations taken from the satires of Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux (1636-1711), chosen as moral and ironic commentary to the characters depicted. Giovanni David was the first Italian engraver to systematically employ the technique of acquatinta, then recently introduced, exploiting its potential to obtain a rich range of tonal effects difficult to reach with the water fortress alone. The union between acquatinta and satirical captions anticipates an expressive solution that, about twenty years later, Francisco Goya would have brought to full maturity in the famous series of Caprichos. 12 boards engraved with acquatinta (400 × 280mm sheet). Complete series including: Le Masque au Caffé; Le Zendale; Le Gondolier; Gaspar Gribulari, Brocanteur à Padoue; Le Marchand allant à Rialto; Femme de Palestrina; The Servant; Le Paveur; La Cuisinière; Habits des Nobles; La Dame vénitienne en habit de masque; Le Perruquier fatigué. Watermarks: three half-moons; IMPERIAL; half a cartoon. Tables in beards (water gora at the right margin that touches the impression of some tables). (12) (1)