He was born in
Portici. He began his studies at the
Academy of Fine Arts in
Naples, with
Jean-Baptiste Wicar. When he came of age in 1808, he obtained a subsidy to attend the nude drawing school. In 1814, he won an award that enabled him to study in Rome. His first known work,
Blind Homer Singing to the Shepherds, dates from 1818 and was created for
Leopold, Prince of Salerno. He left Rome in 1821. The following year, he was a candidate for the chair of historical painting at the Academy, but the position went to the French-born artist,
Joseph Franque. After 1826, he was a regular participant in the biennial Bourbon Exhibition. This may have contributed to his being named an "Honorary Professor" at the Academy. In 1830 his large canvas
The Tomb of the Good Man, won a major prize at the exhibition. In the early 1830s, he began to produce decorative
frescoes; notably, in 1836, a
Resurrection of Christ for the church at the
Camposanto Nuovo (New Cemetery). In 1841 he worked with
Camillo Guerra,
Gennaro Maldarelli, and
Giuseppe Cammarano; decorating the ceilings in the rooms of the
Royal Palace of Naples. He completed the Sala d’Amore, which is now the reading hall in the
National library, with four oval scenes of
Cupid and the
Horae. In 1842 he and the same group of painters decorated the
apse of the new in
Caserta. In 1844, he was appointed Director of the in Rome. This required him to spend most of his time teaching, rather than painting. He would occupy that position until 1860. Following the death of
Costanzo Angelini he became a member of the commission that would choose a new professor of drawing for the Naples Academy. During those years he also wrote and published some short essays on the art of drawing. '' Upon returning to Naples, he was named a
Professor Emeritus at the Academy, a title which provided him with a modest annual pension. He died in 1863 in Naples. ==References==