Engraver and art dealer Gaetano Stefano Bartolozzi was born in 1757 in Venice, the son of engraver Francesco Bartolozzi. His father moved the family to London in 1764 where he made a glittering career. They settled in Warwick Street, Soho. A successful dealer with close ties to Venice, Gaetano married the eminent German-born pianist Therese Jansen in May 1795.
His friend Joseph Haydn was present at the ceremony. Gaetano traded as a print publisher from Great Titchfield Street as F. Bartolozzi & Co. He closed his business in 1798 and returned to Venice via Vienna where they were among the subscribers to the first edition of Haydn’s Creation. Finding that their Venetian property had been looted by French forces during the invasion, they returned to London. Gaetano died in 1821.
One of his daughters was Lucia Elizabeth [Madame] Vestris who made an outstanding career as a singer and actress. Having retired from the stage, she went into management and took plays on tour with a motley crew of actors, actresses and all the support staff. She was a prominent figure in the history of British theatre of the nineteenth century.
