Artwork
Heilige Familie mit Engel
Heilige Familie mit Engel is an unspecified painting by the Early Baroque Italian artist Giulio Cesare Procaccini. It dates from 1594 and is held in the collection of the Bavarian State Painting Collections.
About this work
Overview
Giulio Cesare Procaccini, an early‑Baroque painter and sculptor active in Milan, completed the work titled Heilige Familie mit Engel in 1594. The composition belongs to the religious genre and is presently part of the Alte Pinakothek’s collection in Munich.
Subject & Meaning
The scene depicts a newborn infant seated on a rock, reaching toward a woman who carries a basket of flowers. Two additional female figures stand partially concealed in shadow, while the flower‑bearing woman is shown with wings and a serene, contemplative expression, suggesting an angelic presence within the Holy Family narrative.
Technique & Style
Procaccini employs a pronounced chiaroscuro, contrasting luminous figures against a deep, dark background to model volume and create spatial depth. The infant’s plump limbs and the delicate rendering of the winged woman’s drapery demonstrate the artist’s skill in handling light, texture, and the early Baroque emphasis on dramatic illumination.
History & Provenance
The painting emerged under the patronage of Cardinal Federico Borromeo, a key figure in Milan’s Counter‑Reformation art scene. Procaccini worked alongside contemporaries such as Giovanni Battista Crespi and Pier Francesco Mazzucchelli during this period. After changing hands over the centuries, the work entered the Alte Pinakothek’s holdings, where it remains on display.
Artist & collection
Artist
Giulio Cesare Procaccini (30 May 1574 – 14 November 1625) was an Italian painter and sculptor of the early Baroque era in Milan.
