The family came from Andorno, near Vercelli, Piedmont, and were active in the 18th century and the first half of the 19th. Their works are mainly in Piedmont and Lombardy, although they also worked for leading European courts, such as those at Vienna, Paris and Berlin. Giovanni Galliari the elder (c. 1680-1720), from Andorno, was a minor provincial painter who worked in Milan and Crema in 1707 and 1709 with members of the Piedmontese branch of the Cignaroli. He may have painted several decorations for religious processions for the Sanctuary of the Madonna of Oropa, an ancient and celebrated place of pilgrimage. His three sons were Bernardino Galliari, Fabrizio Galliari and Giovanni Antonio Galliari (1718-83).
The artistic tradition of the family was continued by the children of Fabrizio: Giovanni Galliari the Younger (1746-1818), who went to Berlin, Giuseppe Galliari (1748-1817), who was an architect and figure painter, and Luigi Galliari (1761-1818), who was a musician, and by the sons of Giovanni Antonio, a painter: Fabrizio Galliari the Younger and Gasparo Galliari (d. 1823), who were both painters. On many occasions the family worked as a team, which makes attributions difficult.