NEW YORK, NY.- While nearly all New York galleries present exhibitions on either up-and-coming artists or established modern and contemporary figures, Robert Simon Fine Art continues to mine the distant past. Luca Giordano (1634–1705) is the subject of a revealing monographic exhibition, one which brings together major paintings by this fascinating artist from both private collections and the gallery inventory.

Giordano was the leading Neapolitan painter of the late 17th century. His work was greatly sought after throughout his life, and his career took him from Naples to Florence, and to Madrid, where he became court painter to King Charles II of Spain. Paintings from each of these periods are represented in the exhibition, as are works of diverse subject matter: allegorical, mythological, genre, and religious.

The artist’s speed and fluidity is legendary. Nicknamed “Luca fa presto” (literally, “Luca paints quickly”), Giordano is said to have been the most prolific artist until Picasso. Yet, his finished paintings are characterized by a sophistication in composition and a richness in finish that belies any suggestion of brevity or speed. Giordano’s paintings are greatly prized and have been the subject of several major exhibitions in recent years: in 2001 in Vienna, Naples, and Los Angeles; in 2019 in Paris and Naples; and, most recently in 2023 in Florence. While not on the scale of these, this exhibition is the first dedicated to Giordano in New York City.

Although two of the artist’s major altarpieces are held by New York museums—his Annunciation at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and his Ecstasy of Mary Magdalene at the Hispanic Society, neither is currently on view. This exhibition is an opportunity for lovers of the Italian Baroque to see and study significant paintings by Giordano. Among these is his Allegory of Human Progress, one of several finished paintings for the Galleria of the Medici-Riccardi Palace in Florence (the others are in the National Gallery, London). Featured as well is his Guardian Angel Leading a Child, brought to the United States in the first half of the 19th century and recently rediscovered in rural Pennsylvania. A majestic still-life painted in collaboration with Giovanni Battista Ruoppolo illustrates the artist’s work for secular collectors, as does a series of small-scale mythological paintings on copper. Oil sketches, both for ecclesiastic and domestic projects complement the finished works.


Luca Giordano (Naples, 1634 – 1705), A Guardian Angel Leading a Child. Oil on canvas, 40 x 29 ⅝ inches (101.6 x 75.2 cm)

Robert Simon commented, “Giordano is beloved by me, and by many others, for his visceral appeal, his varied style, and the vitality of his compositions. The idiosyncratic personality of the man is evident in every painting.”

The exhibition is accompanied by an online catalogue with an introduction by Giordano scholar Giuseppe Scavizzi, viewable on the gallery’s website. Additionally, copies of Scavizzi’s English language monograph on the artist are available for purchase during the exhibition. Supplementing the more than a dozen works by Giordano on view are several works by the artist’s contemporaries.

Gallery hours are 10AM-5PM, Monday to Friday.