Bartolomeo Biscaino's life was cut short by the plague, and little is known about him. He first trained with his father, a landscape painter. In the late 1640s he entered the workshop of Valerio Castello, a painter of violent contrasts and fiery, scintillating color. Biscaino's early paintings strongly recalled his master's style, but his forms were softer, his brushstroke broader, and his choice
