Agostino Carracci. Agostino Carracci was an Italian painter, printmaker, and draughtsman who, along with his cousins Annibale and Ludovico Carracci, founded the influential Bolognese School of painting.
He is known for his contributions to the development of Baroque art, and his works encompass a wide range of subjects, including religious, mythological, and genre scenes. He painted The Last Communion of St. Jerome, now in the Church of San Girolamo della Carità in Bologna.
This large-scale altarpiece is considered one of his masterpieces. The painting depicts the dying St. Jerome receiving his last communion, surrounded by mourning figures and set against a dark, atmospheric background.
The work is notable for its dramatic use of light and shadow, as well as its emotional intensity, which would become hallmarks of the Baroque style. He also painted The Lamentation over the Dead Christ in the Pinacoteca Nazionale, Bologna.
This painting depicts the moment when the body of Christ is being prepared for burial, with the Virgin Mary, St. John the Evangelist, and other figures gathered around him in a poignant scene of grief and devotion. Agostino Carracci was born in Bologna as the son of a tailor. he was the elder brother of Annibale Carracci and the cousin of Ludovico Carracci. He initially trained as a goldsmith. He later studied painting, first with Prospero Fontana, who had been Lodovico's mast