Luca Giordano
Neapolitan, 1632 - 1705
Giordano the Elder joined his son in Rome and prospered on the basis of his son's talent, particularly through Luca's copies of old masters. Giovan Pietro Bellori recorded in his Lives of Modern Painters, Sculptors and Architects (Vite de'pittori, scultori et architetti moderni) (1672) that the young Giordano made no fewer than twelve copies of Raphael's Vatican loggias and drew Giulio Romano's Battle of Constantinople on at least twenty occasions.
Giordano subsequently spent some time in Milan, Venice (where he copied works by Titian and Caliari), Florence and Livorno to round out his artistic education. In due course, he acquired his own stable of pupils, among them his son Antonio, Aniello Rossi, Nicolo Russi, Pavelli, Paolo de Matteis, Romasso Fasano, Giuseppe Simonelli and Francisquino.
On his return to Naples, Giordano painted a St Rosario for the church of S Potito and three frescoes inspired by the Life of St John the Baptist, as well as providing decorative compositions for the church of S Teresa. His reputation was confirmed categorically, however, by his St Nicholas Abducted by Angels, painted for the church of S Teresa in 1655. By now acknowledged as one of the most accomplished artists in Naples, Giordano was duly commissioned in 1678 to paint a major work celebrating the peace treaty between France, Spain and Holland. In 1682, he was invited to Florence by Grand-Duke Cosimo III de' Medici to decorate both the S Andrea Corsini chapel in the church of S Maria del Carmine, and the library and gallery of the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi.
Arguably the major highlight in Luca Giordano's career was an invitation in 1692 from Charles II of Spain to visit the country and serve as court painter. Giordano undertook the immense task of painting frescoes for the vast chapel ceiling and staircase of the Escorial. His Battle of St Quentin and his Taking of Montmorency, which decorate the staircase, are widely regarded as among his best works. While in Spain, Giordano also painted frescoes for the large chamber in the Buen Retiro Palace in Madrid, the sacristy of Toledo Cathedral, the chapel of the Nuestra Señora de Atocha convent in Madrid, and the great vault of the royal chapel in Madrid.
In Spain, his output was so great that he was regarded as a 'Spanish' painter; at the same time, he was also criticised for inflicting on Spain the 'superficial and theatrical' style of a virtuoso decorator and, in consequence, precipitating the decline of indigenous Spanish painting. In fact, Herrera the Younger and Francesco Rizi had introduced this style of painting into Spain some forty years previously.
The death of the taciturn Charles II in no way altered Giordano's fortunes: Charles' successor, Philip V, continued to favour Giordano and his work, even allowing Giordano to accompany him to Naples. There, Giordano was inundated by commissions, so much so that - despite his extraordinary speed of execution - he was scarcely able to meet the demand for his services. The Jesuit Order commissioned an altarpiece of St Francis Xavier and complained to the viceroy that the painting would not be ready in time for the official saint's day; Giordano is alleged to have completed the work in an astonishing day and a half.
In 1704, Giordano painted compositions based on the life of Judith for the Carthusian church of S Martino in Naples. The chromatic scope and precision of the frescoes illustrate his skills as a Baroque stylist. Astonishingly, despite his vast number of frescoes, Giordano also found time to produce etchings, which demonstrate the qualities of his draughtsmanship.
Some 700 items feature in Luca Giordano's body of work as a painter of frescoes and oils, and as an etcher.
"GIORDANO, Luca." In Benezit Dictionary of Artists. Oxford Art Online, http://www.oxfordartonline.com.proxy.lib.fsu.edu/subscriber/article/benezit/B00074222 (accessed April 10, 2012).
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