Giuseppe Cammarano

1766 Sciacca – 1850 Naples

The painter Giuseppe Cammarano, also a poet and actor, was known early in his career as a set designer for the Teatro San Carlo in Naples under the supervision of Domenico Ghelli. Cammarano received his training from Fedele Fischetti, whom he also assisted in the execution of frescoes. Referred by Jakob Philipp Hackert, the young artist received a royal stipend for a study year in Rome, where he lived from 1786 to 1788 and where he became familiar with the work of Jacques-Louis David. After his return to Naples, Cammarano turned to the Neoclassicism of Luigi Sabatelli and Vincenzo Camuccini. In 1806 he was named Professor of Painting and Vice-Director of the Naples Academy by King Joseph Bonaparte but was replaced the following year by Jean Baptiste Wicar. In Naples, Cammarano was a well-known and established portrait artist, who worked for Joachim Murat, Bonaparte's successor as king of Naples, among others. As a printmaker, Cammarano fell entirely into oblivion.