Due opere di Camillo Procaccini in Toscana e un episodio di storia del collezionismo

Between 1792 and 1793 the Uffizi Gallery and the Imperial Museums of Vienna organised an exchange of paintings aimed at filling the lacunae of each collection. This paper investigates a group of Milanese altarpieces involved in the exchange which has thus far been neglected. Originally located in small Milanese churches or oratories, the altarpieces became available following the suppression policy initiated by Maria Theresa and continued by her son Joseph II. The story of these works – which should be read within the broader context of Austrian spoliations in Lombardy between the 1770s and ’80s – would induce further study into the kind of taste that guided the selection of pieces to be sent from Milan to the imperial collections. Among these paintings, together with works by Girolamo Figino and Bernardino Campi, are two previously unknown canvases by Camillo Procaccini. The discovery of these altarpieces enables us to add two important pieces to the puzzle of Procaccini’s life and his early success in Milan. A copy of one of Federico Barocci’s paintings probably executed by his pupil Giovanni Andrea Urbani might have belonged to the group of originally Milanese works sent to Florence from Vienna. The story of this painting prompts reflection on Barocci’s fortune in Lombardy, a matter that has yet to be investigated in depth.