David and Goliath

Born in Rome, Giacomo Farelli moved with his family to Naples in his mid-teens, where he studied in the workshop of Andrea Vaccaro (1605-1670). He received his first important commission in about 1655, for a large altarpiece representing The Vision of Saint Bridget (Sta. Brigida, Naples). Luca Giordano was completing an altarpiece for the church at the same time, and his influence would later be found in Farelli's own work.

We are grateful to Professor Riccardo Lattuada for confirming the attribution to Farelli on the basis of photographs, and for proposing a dating to the 1660s, when the artist was still following his master's style.