The Baroque painter Domenico Gargiulo, nicknamed Micco Spadaro due to his father's profession as a sword-maker (spadaro meaning 'sword-maker'), was active mainly in Naples where he produced landscapes, genre scenes, and history paintings.
He trained in the workshop of the battle-painter Aniello Falcone alongside Andrea di Leone and Salvator Rosa. Micco Spadaro's early works were influenced by Paul Bril whose works he may have known from the frescoes in the Santa Maria Regina Coeli in Naples, and also show an interest in the vivid realism of Filippo Napoletano's small landscapes.
In 1638 Spadaro began the fresco decoration of the choir of the Frati Convesi in the Certosa di San Martino, Naples, with scenes depicting religious and mythological tales. The landscapes in these and other frescoes illustrate the artist's intimate knowledge of the landscapes surrounding Naples, showing a freshness and vivacity that reflect his first-hand observation during expeditions outside the city. During the 1640s Spadaro also collaborated with Viviano Codazzi, adding figures to the latter's architectural vistas.
Throughout his life Spadaro had a tendency to adopt the style of other artists, and only in his later years did he achieve a definitive personal style. This was on full display in his celebrated pictures depicting important episodes from Neapolitan history, painted between 1656 and 1660. All these works show topographically accurate views of parts of the city, filled with crowds of ordinary people, among whom the protagonists of the historical dramas mingle.
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