CARRACCI, Lodovico
(b. 1555, Bologna, d. 1619, Bologna)

Portrait of the Tacconi Family

c. 1590
Oil on canvas, 97 x 76 cm
Pinacoteca Nazionale, Bologna

The family portrayed in this painting is that of the painter's sister, Prudenza, with her husband Francesco and their two children. The older boy, Innocenzo, would soon commence his career as an artist, becoming Annibale Carracci's main pupil and collaborator during the master's early years in Rome. The group portrait is characterised by its tone of simple truth, intimate and private, and its touchingly informal conception.