(b Bologna, 13 Jan 1571; d Milan, ?1630). Painter, son of (1) Ercole Procaccini. The oeuvre attributed to him comprises only a few small oil paintings, and practically nothing is known of his life. The frescoes that were documented in the cloister of the Franciscan monastery of S Angelo in Milan have been destroyed. There is documentary evidence that he was paid for his part in a cycle of scenes from the Life of St Carlo Borromeo in 1604; sources also mention a Virgin with SS Agatha, Peter and John, signed and dated 1605. In his lifetime he must have been well known as a painter of still-lifes and landscapes. Malvasia wrote that his still-life paintings were popular in the Spanish court. Only two small landscapes are known: they were published by Longhi (1965) and are of central importance to the reconstruction of Carlantonio’s oeuvre. Both signed and dated 1616, one is entitled Christ Healing the Blind Man and the other Mercury and the Daughter of Cecrops (both priv. col., see Longhi, pls 52–3). They are exceptionally similar both in the composition and in the spatial arrangement of the building elements. Both are sketchily drawn landscapes that differ mainly in the small figures, which have been added as accessories to indicate the theme of the picture. His landscapes are in a style midway between Mannerism and Baroque, like those of Paul Bril and Adam Elmsheimer, by whom he seems to have been influenced. His paintings were greatly in demand by contemporaries, according to Lanzi, who also considered him to be the worst painter of his family. Lanzi also stated that he was a prolific artist, but few of his works seem to have survived, or else they are yet to be attributed to him.

Part of the Procaccini family

• Procaccini, Carlantonio
  • Procaccini
  • Procaccini: (5) Ercole Procaccini