Bernardino Luini

Background

Bernardino Luini was born at Luino, a village on Lago Maggiore about 1482.

Education

It appears that Luini studied painting at Vercelli under Giovenone, or perhaps under Stephano Scotto.

Career

Little is known of Luini’s life; the earliest surviving painting that is certainly his work is a fresco (1512) of the “Madonna and Child” at the Cistercian monastery of Chiaravalle, near Milan. It shows the dependence upon the style of the Lombardian painter Bergognone (c. 1455–after 1522), which Luini retained throughout his life. The majority of his panel paintings have religious subjects. His paintings also show the influence of other masters operating in the Lombardy area, such as Bramantino, Bernardino Zenale, and Leonardo da Vinci.

Luini was influenced by Leonardo during the latter’s second stay in Milan (1506–13), as is seen in the facial types and the composition of Luini’s “Holy Family” (Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, Milan). Of his frescoes, many of which are now detached and dispersed, the most notable are the “Story of Europa” (c. 1520; Berlin) and the “Story of Cephalus and Procris” (c. 1520; National Gallery of Art, Washington, D. C. ) from either the Casa Rabia or the Villa Pelucca (both in Milan) and the “Story of Moses” and various mythological subjects from the Villa Pelucca (Brera, Milan).

Achievements

• Bernardino Luini was best known for his mythological and religious frescoes.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Masters in Art, A Series of Illustrated Monographs, Part 36, Vol. 3 Luini

    (This periodical details some of Luini's finest works and ...)

References

• Luini (Painters)
• Bernardino Luini