Provenance
Commissioned c. 1522 by Gerolamo Rabia for either the Casa Rabia, Milan, or his country house, La Pelucca, near Monza.[1] Michele Cavaleri, Milan; sold 1873 to Enrico (Henri) Cernuschi [1821-1896], Paris and Menton, until at least 1895.[2] (Charles Sedelmeyer, Paris), by 1897.[3] Rodolphe Kann [d. 1905], Paris, by 1900;[4] his estate; sold 1907 to (Duveen Brothers, Inc., London, New York, and Paris); sold 1942 to the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, New York;[5] gift 1943 to NGA.
[1] See the discussion in Fern Rusk Shapley, _Catalogue of the Italian Paintings_, 2 vols., Washington, D.C., 1979: 1:285-288. If the frescoes were in the Casa Rabia, on the Piazza San Sepolcro in Milan, the house passed out of the family about 1530, but the paintings remained in place since they were not removed until about 1800. Among the subsequent owners of the house were the Palletta and Silva families.
[2] The ownership of the frescoes by Cavaleri and Cernuschi, as well as other information about the provenance is discussed in detail by Luca Beltrami, _Luini, materiale de studio_, Milan, 1911: 188-198. Cavaleri was a Milanese lawyer who began collecting around 1845 and from 1870 on opened to the public what by then had come to be called the Cavaleri Museum. The owner hoped that the collection would be purchased by the city of Milan, but when negotiations fell through, he sold the entire collection to Cernuschi on 13 April 1873 (see Alessandra Mottola Molfino, "Collezionismo e mercato artistico a Milano," in _Zenale e Leonardo. Tradizione e rinnovamento della pittura lombarda_, Milan, 1982: 247-248). Cernuschi was a Milanese emigrant to France, and as he otherwise collected mainly objects of Asian Art (see Caroline Gyss-Vermande, "Cernuschi, Henri," in _Dictionary of Art_, 34 vols., New York, 1996: 6:345), it is likely he obtained his Italian paintings from the Cavaleri collection.
[3] Charles Sedelmeyer, [catalogue], Paris, 1897: nos. 52-60.
[4] _Gemälde-Sammlung des Herrn Rudolf Kann in Paris. 100 Photogravuren mit Text von Wilhelm Bode_, Vienna, 1900.
[5] Fern Rusk Shapley, _Paintings from the Samuel H. Kress Collection: Italian Schools, XV-XVI Century_, London, 1968: 141-142. See also The Kress Collection Digital Archive, https://kress.nga.gov/Detail/objects/1734.
Accession Number
1943.4.60
Medium
fresco
Dimensions
overall: 228.6 x 108 cm (90 x 42 1/2 in.)
Classification
Painting
Credit Line
Samuel H. Kress Collection
Tags
Painting Renaissance (1400–1599) Italian
Background & Context
Background Story
Procris and the Unicorn is a companion fresco to Cephalus Hiding the Jewels, both from the same decorative scheme and depicting different episodes from the story of Cephalus and Procris. The unicorn—a symbol of purity and virginity in Renaissance iconography—appears in the story as a hunting trophy or a symbolic creature whose presence comments on the narrative's themes of fidelity and jealousy. Luini's treatment combines the decorative grace of his fresco style with the narrative clarity that the medium demanded, creating a scene that is simultaneously a decorative element and a storytelling device.
Cultural Impact
The story of Cephalus and Procris was a popular subject for Renaissance decorative schemes because it combined the narrative interest of classical mythology (love, jealousy, mistaken identity, accidental death) with the symbolic interest of Ovid's Metamorphoses. Luini's frescoes of the story demonstrate how mythological narrative could serve both decorative and intellectual functions in a Lombard palazzo, providing conversation pieces for educated guests.
Why It Matters
Procris and the Unicorn is Luini's fresco narrative at its most decorative: a mythological scene combining storytelling and symbolism in a style that makes the wall feel like a garden. The unicorn adds a layer of iconographic meaning that connects the story of mortal jealousy to the theme of immortal purity—mythology and symbolism woven together in fresco.
