Portrait of the Court dog handler Domenico Salerno, with dogs and game

Pendant to the portrait of the dog handler Gennaro Rossi, the work depicts the court dog handler Domenico Salerno, surrounded by noble breeds of royal dogs as he contemplates with satisfaction the rich hunting of hares, pheasants, partridges, ducks, and other birds.

The painting bears the signature of Martin Ferdinand Quadal, a painter who moved to Naples from 1782 to 1786 and was previously active as a portraitist and animal painter at various European courts.

It is known that Domenico Salerno, in the year Quadal was in Naples, managed the “canetteria” (dog kennel) of the House of Filippo Principe, in Aldifreda.

In 1854, Ferdinand II of Bourbon arranged for the two canvases with the royal dog handlers to be transferred from Carditello to Capodimonte, where they remained until 1874, when they returned to the collections of the Royal Palace of Caserta.