Giordano Luca

One of the most prominent representatives of the Naples Baroque style of the 17th century, Luca Giordano was a prolific artist who left an enormous production. During his very long career, he worked not only in Naples, but also in Rome, Florence, Venice, and many other Italian cities, where his insightful art influenced many of his colleagues. In 1692, he was invited to Spain by Carlos II, where there are examples of his extraordinary, lavish art in Madrid (Escurial) and the chancel of the Toledo Cathedral. After the death of the Spanish monarch in 1702, he returned to Naples and continued to work for a number of years.

Giordano was a splendid connoisseur of the great Italian and Flemish painting tradition and capable of admirably copying after the greatest masters of the 16th century; for this, he was named “the Proteus of painting”. From his youthful years in the family workshop, he was in the habit of making works and copies after the old masters.