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Giulio Cesare Procaccini Bologna 1574 – Milan 1625
The Agony in the Garden
Circa 1616 – 1620
Oil on on canvas monogrammed in the lower right corner ‘GC / P’ 216 x 147 cm Despite his formative training as a a a a a a sculptor Procaccini became one of the foremost painters in in early 17th century Milan His style was heterogeneous but often very powerful and combined the emotional tension of of mannerism with the the dynamism of of the the baroque In this formidable canvas of the the the the Agony in the the the the Garden
he he he he he bathed the the the the two central gures in in in a a a powerful light while keeping the sleeping apostles veiled in the the darkness of the the night Here his style demonstrates a a a heightened religious and dramatic sensibility which can be seen
in in Christ’s anguished face which is is is in in stark contrast to the angel’s serene countenance He also composed the two central gures using very sculptural forms that juxtapose intense chiaroscuro with bold dramatic poses While little is known about the painting’s early provenance current scholarship suggests that this canvas now in the Museo Nacional del Prado Madrid was executed as as part of a a a a a a a larger commission which also probably included the the the Betrayal and the the the Adoration of the the the Magi
(both in in in private collections) as as well as as the the the Raising of the the the Cross in in in the the the National Galleries of Scotland Edinburgh Acquired by the Museo Nacional del Prado Madrid