(b Milan, bapt 6 Aug 1605; d Milan, 14 Nov 1675 or 2 Mar 1680). Painter and draughtsman, son of (3) Carlantonio Procaccini. He began drawing under the direction of his father, and in 1621 he was enrolled in the first session of the Accademia Ambrosiana. His admiration for his uncles, (2) Camillo Procaccini and (4) Giulio Cesare Procaccini, was the basis of his work, and like them he enjoyed important public and private commissions. Among those that survive are the angels frescoed on the nave vault of S Vittore al Corpo, Milan. Probably rather early works, these figures are swollen versions of the tighter, more rhythmic creations of Giulio Cesare. In the 1660s Ercole received such locally important commissions as those for the choir frescoes in Monza Cathedral of scenes from the Old Testament (1662; in situ) and the canvas Crossing of the Red Sea in Lodi Cathedral (1664). These large-scale works recall analogous pictures by Camillo, executed some 50 years earlier. Ercole’s colour range is broader, including darker tones, and his forms are more rounded. He seemed uninterested in the new stylistic developments current in Milan, Genoa and Emilia from c. 1640 and consequently his work has a vulgar, retardataire character, although this did not prevent him from having patrons as important as Charles-Emanuel II, Duke of Savoy. He was also a successful teacher, and, like his uncles, a prolific draughtsman, consciously imitating Giulio Cesare’s style and technique. There is a large group of his drawings, mainly in red chalk, in the Ambrosiana, Milan, and further groups in the Accademia, Venice, and the Uffizi, Florence. The best source for his activity is Malvasia’s report, based on a visit to the artist in 1667, and Malvasia’s description of Ercole il vecchio as a mediocre painter equally fits il giovane. He is best remembered as the heir of greater masters.

Part of the Procaccini family

• Procaccini, Ercole (ii) (1605-75)
  • Busca, Antonio
  • Procaccini
  • Storer, Johann Christophorus