Andrea Vaccaro

He produced copies of the work of these artists for Neapolitan collectors and Flemish art dealers in Naples such as Gaspar Roomer and Jan Vandeneyden.

[3] The Viceroy gave the commission for the painting for the high altar of the Santa Maria del Pianto, Naples to Vaccaro.

[4] In 1656 the plague devastated Naples decimating half of the population, including the artists Bernardo Cavallino and Massimo Stanzione with whom Andrea Vaccaro had been closely linked.

[2] In 1665 Vacarro was one of the founders and head of the 'Congrega dei SS Anna e Luca', a form of painter's guild that likely had as its aim to promote the status of artists in Naples.

[1][2] Between 1650 and 1670, Vaccaro's art was highly influential on Neapolitan painting besides that of Massimo Stanzione, the leading artist at that time, and that of the young Luca Giordano, who was just making his mark.

[3] Only two paintings by Andrea Vaccaro are known to bear a full signature: Saint Teresa’s Vision of the Golden Collar (Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, Madrid) and Saint Luke Portraying the Virgin and Child painted for the Corporation of Neapolitan Painters.

Sometimes a small triangle (delta) appears on both sides of the monogram, as found in Latin inscriptions for abbreviations and/or word divisions.

From 1630 onwards he also drew inspiration from the works of artists such as Guido Reni, Anthony van Dyck and Pietro Novelli.

Vaccaro's late work betrays Luca Giordano's brilliant palette and Mattia Preti's interplay of light and shadow.

[5] Due to the great success he achieved in life, many of his works were exported to Spain, where a large part of his production is currently located.