Lamentation of Christ

Giulio Cesare Procaccini was a Milanese sculptor turned painter who became one of the leading figures in Milanese Baroque painting during the early seventeenth century. His Lamentation of Christ of 1611 shows him at full maturity, combining the physical urgency of Lombard realism with an emotional intensity that drew on both Michelangelo and the Flemish tradition. Procaccini was highly regarded in his lifetime and his work influenced a generation of northern Italian painters.

The dead Christ is held by multiple mourning figures in a tightly compressed grouping. Procaccini's sculptural background is evident in the careful three-dimensional modelling of the forms. The colour is rich and warm, with deep reds and blues in the drapery contrasting with the pallor of Christ's body. The paint surface shows his characteristically fluid, somewhat impasted handling.