Sebastiano Conca (Gaeta, Italy 1680 - Naples, Italy 1764)

Born in Gaeta in 1680, he studied at the Neapolitan School of Francesco Solimena. Arriving in Rome at the beginning of the eighteenth century, he joined Carlo Maratta as a fresco painter for several years. Later, thanks to the support of Cardinal Ottoboni, a collector and patron, he managed to obtain illustrious commissions – including those for Roman families Spada, de Carolis and Acquaviva– thus assuming an increasingly important role. 

Conca, commissioned by Pope Clement XI Albani, created a fresco depicting Jeremiah in the Basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano; for this, Conca earned a knighthood and a diamond cross from the Pope. 

In 1729, he joined the San Luca Academy. His painting is now characterised by a classical, elegant and skilfully composed style, much appreciated by his contemporaries.  

After some commissions at the Savoy Court in Turin, Conca returned to Naples. Under the influence of Luca Giordano and the local Baroque, his style changes profoundly, incorporating the pompousness and monumentality typical of the Baroque style. 

He died in Naples in 1764.