 His mastery of composition and light, and remarkable ability to convey the volume and texture of individual objects enabled him to transform the most mundane of kitchen fare into powerful images.Luis Egidio Meléndez de Rivera Durazo y Santo Padre was born in Naples in 1716 to Francisco Meléndez de Rivera Diaz (1682 – after 1758) and Maria Josefa Durazo y Santo Padre Barrille.Meléndez's father, a miniaturist painter from Oviedo, had moved to Madrid with his older brother, the portrait painter Miguel Jacinto Meléndez (1679–1734) in pursuit of artistic instruction.