Andrea di Leone

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Andrea di Leone (8 September 1610 – 12 February 1685) was an Italian Baroque painter from Naples. He studied with Belisario Corenzio and Salvator Rosa, and trained in Aniello Falcone’s workshop. As a young artist, he helped Corenzio fresco battle scenes for the Viceroy’s palace. When Corenzio left Naples, Leone took over those commissions, and later he joined Falcone’s circle. In the late 1630s he helped decorate the Buen Retiro Palace in Madrid.

Leone’s style grew from a mix of influences. He was inspired by Castiglione and also absorbed the classical, ordered qualities of Nicolas Poussin, along with the work of French artists in Rome. This blend gave his paintings a refined, sometimes romantic feel with careful composition and warm color. Some scholars think he may have visited Rome to connect with Poussin’s circle.

Notable works include The Voyage of Jacob (1635–40) in Vienna; Tobit Burying the Dead (early 1640s) in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Noah after the Flood and Jacob Wrestling with the Angel in the Prado in Madrid; and Jacob Meeting Rachel in the Hermitage, Saint Petersburg. He also painted Venus and Adonis (mid-1650s) and a set of Life of St. Athanasius frescoes in Naples Cathedral (signed 1677), though the frescoes are now in ruins. Leone was also a still-life painter, with signed works and still lifes with fruit known in several collections.

Andrea di Leone died in Naples in 1685.