Michele Ricciardi (1672 – 1753) was an Italian painter, active in the provinces of

Salerno Salerno (, , ; nap, label= Salernitano, Saliernë, ) is an ancient city and ''comune'' in Campania (southwestern Italy) and is the capital of the namesake province, being the second largest city in the region by number of inhabitants, after ...

and

Avellino Avellino () is a town and ''comune'', capital of the province of Avellino in the Campania region of southern Italy. It is situated in a plain surrounded by mountains east of Naples and is an important hub on the road from Salerno to Benevento. ...

, and other towns in the

Campania Campania (, also , , , ) is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islands and the i ...

in a late-

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

-style.

Biography

He was born and died in Penta, a neighborhood of

Fisciano Fisciano is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Salerno in the Campania region of south-western Italy. It is dominated by the University of Salerno, which built a new campus in the town in 1988. The municipality borders with Baronissi, Calvan ...

in the

province of Salerno The Province of Salerno ( it, Provincia di Salerno) is a province in the Campania region of Italy. __TOC__ Geography The largest towns in the province are: Salerno, the capital, which has a population of 131,950; Cava de' Tirreni, Battipagli ...

. He is described as a follower of Luca Giordano and

Francesco Solimena Francesco Solimena (4 October 1657 – 3 April 1747) was a prolific Italian painter of the Baroque era, one of an established family of painters and draughtsmen. Biography Francesco Solimena was born in Canale di Serino in the province of ...

. He mainly painted sacred subjects for churches. He frescoed the interior of the church of Santa Maria delli Mazzi in

Coperchia Coperchia is the most populated parish of Pellezzano, in the Province of Salerno, Italy. Geography It is located along the so-called ''Via dei casali'', which is a county road that connects the city of Baronissi with Salerno, and it is also the ...

. He depicted the ''Assumption'' and the ''Coronation of the Virgin''. He also painted the ''Virgin with St Lucy and Catherine of Alexandria intercedes with Christ for the town of Coperchia'' and an ''Allegory of the Catholic Church''. Around this painting, are twelve smaller paintings likely depicting allegories of the three

theological virtues Theological virtues are virtues associated in Christian theology and philosophy with salvation resulting from the grace of God. Virtues are traits or qualities which dispose one to conduct oneself in a morally good manner. Traditionally they have ...

(Faith, Hope and Charity); the four

cardinal virtues The cardinal virtues are four virtues of mind and character in both classical philosophy and Christian theology. They are prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance. They form a virtue theory of ethics. The term ''cardinal'' comes from the ...

(Strength, Justice, Temperance, and Prudence); and the eight

Beatitudes The Beatitudes are sayings attributed to Jesus, and in particular eight blessings recounted by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew, and four in the Sermon on the Plain in the Gospel of Luke, followed by four woes which mirr ...

.Gazzetti di Salerno
culture section, article on church of Santa Maria delli Mazzi in Coperchia, 27 March 2014. He also painted for the

Avellino Cathedral Avellino Cathedral ( it, Duomo di Santa Maria Assunta e di San Modestino, ''Cattedrale di Avellino'') is a Roman Catholic cathedral dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and Saint Modestinus in Avellino, Campania, Italy. It is the seat of ...

References

*''Michele Ricciardi: vita e opere di un pittore campano del Settecento'', by Tiziana Mancini, Michele Ricciardi Paparo, 2003. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ricciardi Michele Italian Baroque painters 17th-century Italian painters Italian male painters 18th-century Italian painters 1672 births 1753 deaths People from the Province of Salerno Painters from Campania 18th-century Italian male artists