Brief Biography-Abate Andrea Belvedere, a painter of still life, was a native of Naples. He was a disciple of Giovan Battista Ruoppolo and later worked with Luca Giordano, who inserted figures in his paintings. In 1694 he became a court painter to Charles II in Madrid and completed several works in El Escorial. Belvedere learned the chiaroscuro technique from the images of Caravaggio, which brought his flower paintings to life, and Giordano held his paintings in the highest esteem. However, he stopped painting in his older years for literature and theatre. It is uncertain where he died; some say Venice or Florence, but it could have been Naples.