Camillo Procaccini (1561–1629), Follower of - Die Heilige Familie mit der heiligen Anna

Old Master Oil Painting circa 1650 Holy Family Procaccini Workshop 112 cm


Workshop/Followers of Camillo Procaccini (1561–1629), circa 1650

The Holy Family with Saint Anne
Oil on canvas, doublured
Italy, mid-17th century

Dimensions

Painting: ca. 112 × 87 cm
Frame: ca. 137 × 111 × 8.5 cm

Large-format Italian Old Master depiction of the Holy Family with Saint Anne, probably created around 1650 in the workshop milieu or in the immediate followership of the important Lombard–Emilian painter Camillo Procaccini.

The composition follows the well-known painting “Sacra Famiglia con Sant’Anna” by Camillo Procaccini, created around 1609/10 for Piacenza Cathedral. The former altar piece originally stood in the Chapel of the Holy Family in Piacenza Cathedral and was later moved to the Chiesa del Corpus Domini in Piacenza, where it is located today. In official publications of the city of Piacenza, the work is also referred to as “La famiglia della Vergine.”

Research connects the landscape background of the Piacenza model with Giovanni Mauro della Rovere, called Il Fiamminghino. della Rovere was a pupil and collaborator of Camillo Procaccini and worked on various northern Italian church commissions. The combination of monumental figure painting with a broad, finely structured landscape is characteristic of this collaboration.

The present painting adopts the essential components of the famous Piacenza composition: beneath a mighty tree, the Virgin Mary sits with the unclothed Christ Child on her lap. The child turns toward the mother with a lively movement. To the right Saint Anne approaches and offers the group an apple. On the left Holy Joseph watches the intimate scene.

The apple has a special Christian symbolism. It recalls the Fall, but together with Christ it also points to the overcoming of original sin and the salvation of humanity.

The landscape also closely follows the Piacenza model. One can discern the large central tree trunk, a wide hilly landscape, small buildings, a stone bridge, rocks, trees, and distant figures and animals. The religious depiction is thus connected with an atmospheric Northern Italian landscape.

Compared with the monumental church painting, the composition of the present painting is more tightly framed at the top and bottom. The figures thus appear larger and more immediate. Numerous details—especially the figures’ postures, the arrangement of the hands, the apple, the garments, and essential elements of the landscape—match the Piacenza work.

The painting shows the characteristic stylistic features of Northern Italian art from the early to middle 17th century. These include strong color, pronounced chiaroscuro, three-dimensional modeling of the figures, and a fusion of late Mannerist forms with the developing Baroque pictorial language.

Mary wears an intensely blue-green mantle over a pink gown. Saint Anne appears in deep red, brown, and green tones, while Joseph is highlighted by his warm ochre-brown garment. The bright flesh tones of Mary and the Christ Child form the visual center of the otherwise dark-toned scene.

The painting is on canvas and was fully doublured in a former restoration. The original canvas was transferred onto an additional canvas for stabilization. The surface shows pronounced, age-appropriate craquelure. There are also older restorations, retouchings, cleaning, and, in places, overpaintings. In the upper portion of the image, there is a horizontally running older damage or crease/ seam line.

UV photographs show different fluorescences and indications of former restoration measures. Due to the aged varnish, the depiction appears somewhat darker in places. Proper cleaning and a conservation examination could reveal further painterly details.

On the back of the frame is an old red label from a Venetian restorer or decorator and dealer of antique furniture from the San Marco area in Venice. The label documents a previous treatment or framing of the work in Venice and underscores its older Italian collection history. It is not a signature of the painter.

The painting is housed in an imposing, profiled black frame with a gold-colored inner edge. The frame shows age-related wear, dents, and small flaws. With outer dimensions of ca. 137 × 111 cm, the work has a representative, almost museum-like presence.

Attribution

Workshop or followers of Camillo Procaccini, circa 1650. An old Italian repetition after the “Sacra Famiglia con Sant’Anna” in Piacenza Cathedral, today in the Chiesa del Corpus Domini.

A final confirmation of attribution and dating awaits examination of the original by a recognized specialist in Lombard or Emilian painting of the 17th century.

Literature and comparison note

Comparable is Camillo Procaccini’s circa 1609/10 “Sacra Famiglia con Sant’Anna,” originally in Piacenza Cathedral and today in the Chiesa del Corpus Domini in Piacenza. The landscape background of the model is attributed to a collaboration with Giovanni Mauro della Rovere, called Il Fiamminghino.

An impressive, large-format work of Italian painting from the 17th century with a direct reference to an important ecclesiastical composition by Camillo Procaccini.