 Although Etty had only intended to stay for 10 days , he was so taken with Venice that he remained for over seven months . He fell into a routine of copying paintings in Venetian collections by day , and attending the life class of the Venetian Academy of Fine Arts by night , producing around 50 oil paintings in total as well as numerous pencil sketches . He was extremely impressed with the high quality of the Venetian Academy ; the instructors in their turn were extremely impressed with the quality of Etty 's work , in particular his flesh tones . He acquired the nickname of " Il Diavolo " owing to the high speed at which he was able to paint , and watching him at work became something of a spectacle in its own right ; luminaries including Gioachino Rossini and Ladislaus <unk> ( then Patriarch of Venice ) came to watch him paint . So devoted was Etty to his studies in Venice that he exhibited no original work in 1823 , writing to his brother that " If one spent all the time in painting originals , one might as well , nay better , be at home " . The members of the Venetian Academy were so impressed by Etty that he was elected an Honorary Academician . 
