Giordano was temperate and frugal. He wrought incessantly, and to the
scandal of the more devout, was found at his easel, even on days of
religious festivals. His daily habit was to paint from eight in the
morning, till noon, when he dined and rested two hours. At two he
resumed his pencil, and wrought till five or six o'clock. He then took
an airing in one of the royal carriages which was placed at his
disposal. "If I am idle a single day," he used to say, "my pencils get
the better of me; I must keep them in subjection by constant practice."
The Spanish writers accuse him of avarice, and attribute his intense
application to his ambition to acquire a large fortune; that he received
large prices for his works, and never spent a maravedi except in the
purchase of jewelry, of which he was very fond, and considered a good
investment; thus he astonished Palomino by showing him a magnificent
pearl necklace; but it should be recollected he was in the service of
the King, and had a fixed salary, by no means large, which he was
entitled to receive whether he wrought or played. He was doubtless
better paid for his private commissions, which he could quickly
despatch, than for his royal labors.