Luis Meléndez

Luis Egidio Meléndez (1716, 1780) was a Spanish painter renowned as one of the greatest still life artists of the 18th century. Born in Naples to a family of artists, he spent most of his career in Madrid, where he created an extraordinary series of still life paintings for the royal collection of Charles III. Despite his exceptional talent, he died in poverty, largely unrecognized during his lifetime.