Lorenzo De Caro Biography
Lorenzo De Caro, an Italian painter of great renown, was born on 29 May 1719 in Naples. The critics of the time greatly appreciated his art, above all thanks to his personal reworking of Solimena's style.
Little is known about the painter's life, but according to censuses of the time, at the beginning of his career, he worked at the "vicolo della Porta Piccola del Rosario" workshop in the Quartieri Spagnoli.
De Caro's pictorial style developed under the influence of the late Baroque, dominant in the Neapolitan art of the time. His characters reflect Traversi's style, which focuses on the representation of different aspects of social life.
His debut dates back to 1740 with some sacred paintings exhibited in the parish of San Germano in Cassino. From 1746, he was engaged in various restoration activities, including the fresco of the “Madonna del Carmine e Santi” of S. Gerolamo dei Ciechi, unfortunately lost, and the restoration of the frescoes in the sacristy of the Annunziata in Naples. The creation of the vault of the atrium of the Trinità dei Pellegrini hospital and "the Expulsion of Heliodorus from the temple" (Pinacoteca di Bologna) have also been attributed to the painter.
De Caro reaches the pinnacle of his career with the "Conversion of Saint Paul" and the "Triumph of Judith", where his frantic search for a personal style that contrasts with the conventional art of the time can be seen. The use of strong contrasts of light and shadow testifies to the painter's desire to get rid of drawing formalisms and get closer to the real aspect of life.
In 1760 he created several works for churches in Naples, including "The Allegory of Faith" (1761) on behalf of the Santa Maria della Pazienza alla Cesarea.
De Caro Lorenzo died in 1777 in Naples, at the age of fifty-eight.
