Sebastiano Conca
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Sebastiano Conca (1679 - 1764), Italian painter, was born at Gaeta, and apprenticed in Naples under Francesco Solimena.
In 1706, along with his brother Giovanni, who acted as his assistant, he settled at Rome, where for several years he worked in chalk only, to improve his drawing. He was patronized by the Cardinal Ottoboni, who introduced him to Clement XI, who commissioned a well-received Jeremiah painted for the church of St. John Lateran. Conca was knighted by the pope. He collaborated with Carlo Maratta in the Coronation of Santa Cecilia in the namesake's church of Santa Cecilia in Trastavere (1721-24).
He received widespread official acclaim and patronage. He worked for a time for the Savoy family in Turin on the Oratory of San Filippo and Santa Teresa, in the Venaria (1721-25), for Basilica di Superga (1726), and Royal Palace (1733).
He painted frescoes of Probatica, or Pool of Siloam, in the Ospedale di Santa Maria della Scala (hospital) of Siena. In Genoa, he painted large allegorical canvases of the Palazzo Lomellini-Doria (1738-40).
In 1739, he published a guide to painting: Ammonimenti (or Admonishments), which blended moralistic advice with technique. He returned to Naples in 1752, and enjoyed the royal patronage of Charles III. His studio was prodigious and he painted frescoes for the Church of Santa Clara (1752-4), five canvases for the Chapel in Caserta (now lost), as well as many others including for the Benedictines of Aversa (1761), a History of Saint Francisco of Paola for the Sanctuary of Saint Maria di Pozzano of Castellammare (1762-3), and many other altarpieces. He painted till late in life.
His pictures, mostly of a brilliant and showy grand manner, as was the prevalent taste.
He was elected in 1718 to the Accademia di San Luca and its director during the 1729-31 and later 1739-41. His painting was strongly influenced by the Baroque painter Luca Giordano.
This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
