(b Naples, 15 Nov. 1607; d Naples, ?July 1656). Neapolitan painter, one of the leading artists in Naples in the generation before the plague of 1656 (in which he died). He painted numerous religious subjects, including frescos for Neapolitan churches, but he is now remembered mainly as the first specialist in battle pieces, a genre that won him an international reputation and in which he inspired his pupil Salvator Rosa. His pictures generally show war as a confused struggle between anonymous soldiers, creating a type that has been described as ‘the battle scene without a hero’. Falcone was also an outstanding draughtsman.