Luca Giordano was a Neapolitan painter of the Baroque period who was active in Italy and Spain. His extensive oeuvre includes altarpieces, mythological paintings and both religious and profane fresco cycles. There is hardly any church in Naples not displaying works by him. Because of the speed with which he completed his works, contemporaries gave him the nickname "Fà presto" (The quick one). Giordano is considered one of the most important protagonists of Italian Baroque painting. His early works still show the influence of Caravaggio and Jusepe de Ribeira in their chiaroscuro. Giordano later established a new Baroque style, with bright colours and dramatically moving figures. Giordano was influenced by the Florentine and Venetian Renaissance as well as by Dürer, Rembrandt and Rubens. In 1665, he spent longer periods in Florence and Venice, and even after his return to Naples, he received numerous commissions from both cities. In 1692, the Spanish king appointed him court painter in Madrid. Until 1702, he painted almost 200 panel paintings and numerous frescoes in Madrid. Back in his native Naples, he received further public commissions. However, some of these were completed by his collaborators and pupils, as Giordano died in 1705.