He was born into a Parthenopean family of painters, the son of Giacomo Recco and nephew of Giovan Battista, from whom he learned the art of painting. Both painters were among the pioneers of the still life genre in Naples. The influence of the former can be seen in the painter's most youthful period in the 1660s, and many of the themes of the following two decades refer to the influence of the latter. However, he surpassed them both to become the most sought-after still-life painter in Naples, demonstrating an extraordinary ability to depict marine fauna and to create complex and grandiose scenographies. With an increasingly high-class and demanding clientele, in his last period his style became more refined and decorative. He worked with Luca Giordano and, thanks to his fame and the latter's intervention, was summoned to the Madrid court by Charles II, but he did not arrive there, as he died as soon as he disembarked in Alicante on 29 May 1695.
