Bartolomeo Biscaino's life was cut short by the plague, and little is known about him. He first trained with his father, a landscape painter. In the late 1640s he entered the workshop of Valerio Castello. Biscaino's early paintings strongly recalled his master's style, but his forms were softer, his brushstroke broader, and his choice of colours more delicate. Curving draperies and sweetness of expression typified Biscaino's manner.
Scholars often date Biscaino's canvases on the basis of his forty catalogued etchings, and he remains best known for his drawings and prints. Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione influenced the iconography and technique of Biscaino's etchings. In his rendering of animals, figures, and naturalistic settings, and the play of light and shade, Castiglione also provided an important example for Biscaino's later paintings.