Naples abounds with the works of Giordano both public and private. There is scarcely a church in that great city which does not boast some work by him. A much admired piece is the Expulsion of the sellers and buyers from the Temple at the P. P. Girolamini: the architectural parts of which are painted by Moscatiello, a good perspective painter. Of his frescos, those at the Treasury of the Certosa are esteemed the best. They were executed by him when his powers were matured, and appear to unite in themselves all the best qualities of the artist. Every one must be forcibly struck by the picture of the Serpent raised in the desert, and the throng of Israelites, who, assailed in a horrible manner, turn to it for relief. The other pictures on the walls and in the vault, all scriptural, are equally powerful in effect. The cupola of S. Brigida is also extolled, which was painted in competition with Francesco di Maria, and in so very short a time, and with such fascinating tints, that it was preferred by the vulgar to the work of that accomplished master, and thus served to diffuse less solid principles among the rising artists. As a miracle of despatch we are also shewn the picture of S. Saverio, painted for the church of that saint in a day and a half, full of figures, and as beautiful in colour as any of his pictures. Luca went to Florence to paint the Capella Corsini and the Riccardi Gallery, besides many works in the churches and for individuals, particularly for the noble house of Rosso, who possessed the Baccanali of Giordano, afterwards removed to the palace of the Marchese Gino Capponi. He was also employed by the Grand Duke; and Cosmo III., in whose presence he designed and painted a large picture in less time than I dare mention, complimented him by saying that he was a fit painter for a sovereign prince. The same eulogium was passed on him by Charles II. of Spain, in whose court he resided thirteen years; and, to judge from the number of works he left there, it might be supposed that he had consumed a long life in his service. He continued and finished the series of paintings begun by Cambiasi of Genoa, in the church of the Escurial, and ornamented the vault, the cupola, and the walls with many scriptural subjects, chiefly from the life of Solomon. He painted some other large compositions in fresco in a church of S. Antonio, in the palace of Buonritiro, in the Hall of the Ambassadors; and for the Queen Mother a Nativity, most highly finished, which is said to be a surprising picture, and perhaps superior to any other of his painting. If all his works had been executed with similar care, the observation, that his example had corrupted the Spanish School, might perhaps have been spared.[123] In his old age he returned to his native place, loaded with honours and riches, and died lamented and regretted as the greatest genius of his age.