La Vierge avec l'Enfant

1690s–1730s

His studio dominates Neapolitan painting

From the 1690s through the first four decades of the 18th century his studio dominates Neapolitan painting, becoming a virtual academy at the heart of the city’s cultural life. Among its pupils are Francesco De Mura, Giuseppe Bonito and Gaspare Traversi; the Scottish portraitist Allan Ramsay spends three years there.

1701

Probable visit to Rome

He probably visits Rome, where he paints the Abduction of Orithyia for Cardinal Fabrizio Spada (now in the Galleria Spada); its clear drawing and frieze-like composition show his assimilation of Roman classicism and that of the French Academy in Rome.

1710

Giustiniani commission for the Genoese Senate

The Giustiniani family commissions three paintings for the Senate Room in Genoa, and Solimena is paid over 6,000 ducats. The first completed is the Massacre of the Giustiniani at Scio, in which he tries to subordinate the figures to the architectural structure.

1735–1736

“Battle of Alexander and Darius” for Charles III

Charles III, the Bourbon ruler of Naples from 1734 and later King of Spain, becomes an enthusiastic patron of Solimena and commissions the Battle of Alexander and Darius for the Real Sitio de San Ildefonso (now at El Escorial).

3 April 1747

Died