, 1650s (
Musée des Beaux-Arts de Strasbourg) He was the son, and pupil, of
Giovanni Andrea Biscaino. He afterwards became a pupil of
Valerio Castello. His career was cut short by the
plague which visited
Genoa, and to which his father and himself fell victims. The Dresden gallery once held three paintings, representing
Woman taken in adultery,
Adoration by Magi, and
Circumcision of Christ. Around 1650 Biscaino entered the workshop of
Valerio Castello, and from roughly that year his first known work, which still finds him a clumsy and immature artist, was the canvas representing
St Ferrando in the act of imploring the Virgin. Almost at the same time Biscaino worked on the canvases representing the
Alms of St Louis King of France and
Death of Cleopatra, both preserved in the Palazzo Bianco gallery in Genoa. In these canvases, the colors were not very vibrant, but the painter achieved a greater compositional balance, even if he did not get to possess a personal style, since he did not yet show the later influence of
Rubens and
Pellegro Piola. On the other hand, the existing canvas in the Pinacoteca Civica of Savona, representing
Triumph of David and in
Moses Saved from the Waters, he has more maturity. Bisciano later follows
Valerio Castello and in addition to the characteristic colors, which became smoky and
sfatti he adopted the type of procacciniano-corrugated figure. This is also visible in his
Adoration of the Magi, preserved in the National Gallery of Palazzo Spinola in
Genoa. The last works of Bisciano, before his young death from plague, were the three paintings preserved in the Dresden Gallery and depicting
Christ and the Adulteress,
Presentation at the Temple and
Adoration of the Magi. A sketch of the central part of the latter painting is preserved in M. Labò collection in Genoa and another in the National Gallery of
Palazzo Spinola. In these works the painter could almost achieve a personal style. ==Works==