Giordano
LUCA (jōr-dä-nō), an Italian painter; born in Naples about 1632; a scholar of Spagnoletto, studied the great Italian masters at Rome, and became the pupil of Peter of Cortona.
He imitated the greatest masters so well that even connoisseurs were imposed upon. In 1679 he was employed by Charles II. to ornament the Escurial, and at the court of Spain he became a great favorite. After the death of Charles II. he returned to his native country. His most celebrated pieces are his frescoes, in the Escurial, at Madrid, Florence, and Rome. Some of his finest paintings are at Dresden. He died in Naples, Jan. 12, 1705.