Artwork Page for The Apostles Gathered Around the Tomb of the Virgin

Details / Information for The Apostles Gathered Around the Tomb of the Virgin

The Apostles Gathered Around the Tomb of the Virgin

c. 1594

Camillo Procaccini

(Italian, 1546–1629)
Culture
Italy
Medium
Pen and ink and brush and wash with white heightening on paper prepared with reddish-brown wash
Measurements
Sheet: 17.7 x 42.5 cm (6 15/16 x 16 3/4 in.)
Credit Line
John L. Severance Fund 2024.65
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
Print
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Did You Know?

The warm, reddish color of this paper was created with a colored ink wash in order to create a middle tone upon which the artist could draw with lighter and darker tones, creating a study of dark and light, or chiaroscuro.

Description

Camillo Procaccini was a significant figure in the artistic activity of Bologna and Milan at the beginning of the Catholic Counter Reformation. This drawing is a preparatory work related to large oil painting still in situ (in its originally intended location), in the apse of the Santa Maria Maggiore in Bergamo, Italy. Part of a program depicting the assumption of the Virgin, the drawing shows the apostles at the empty tomb of the Virgin, exclaiming with emotion at the miracle of her ascension to heaven. Procaccini’s iconographic program aligned with current reforms in Catholic imagery that placed emphasis on articles of faith and lives of the saints, often through miracles.
A horizontally oriented drawing in reddish-brown ink and wash depicts the twelve Apostles, light-skinned men gathered around a stone tomb. On our left, three figures in draped robes raise their arms skyward. Centrally, several men lean over the empty tomb while one kneels with head bowed. On our right, a man reaches upward. White highlights define the figures against a tonal background, capturing their dramatic discovery through fluid lines and atmospheric shading.

The Apostles Gathered Around the Tomb of the Virgin

c. 1594

Camillo Procaccini

(Italian, 1546–1629)
Italy

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