In painting, Pietro Longhi (Venice, ca. 1701 - 1785) is the interpreter par excellence of eighteenth-century Venetian society and customs, just as Goldoni is in terms of theatre. The Querini possesses one of the largest and most interesting collections of his works: no fewer than thirty perceptive and playful ‘snapshots’ that depict the domestic and socialite world of Venice. Longhi captures the atmospheres, customs and moods with a hint of irony. The documentary value of these illustrated chronicles is exceptional while the artistic quality in the detail is noteworthy: a noblewoman’s dress, the furnishings in a room, an atlas lying open on the floor.