Giordano, Luca (1634-1705)

Italian baroque painter. A prolific artist, best known for his ceiling frescoes, he worked in Florence, Rome, Naples, Venice, and Spain. His work shows a variety of influences, including Paolo Veronese, and tends to be livelier than that of earlier baroque painters.

Giordano was born in Naples and trained under José de Ribera and later Pietro da Cortona. He was active in Florence in the 1680s, where he painted a ceiling in the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi 1682-83. In 1692 he was summoned to Spain by Charles II and painted ceilings in the Escorial palace, a task that occupied him for ten years. He returned to Naples in 1702, his work there, characterized by an animated style and light colours, influencing Tiepolo and becoming a major source for much 18th-century decorative painting.