Bernardino Luini

Q: What art movement was Bernardino Luini part of?

Luini was a High Renaissance painter who worked in the Lombard tradition, heavily influenced by Leonardo da Vinci's style after the master's residence in Milan. Vasari called him the "Leonardo of Lombardy" for skillfully absorbing Leonardo's sfumato technique and gentle expressions in his own prolific output.

Q: Where can I see Luini's paintings?

The Pinacoteca di Brera in Milan holds major works, including his graceful female saints and Madonnas. Paintings also hang at the National Gallery London and Louvre. His frescoes remain in Lombard churches throughout northern Italy.

Q: How was Luini connected to Leonardo da Vinci?

Luini worked in Milan during Leonardo's residence there (1482-1499 and again 1508-1513), absorbing his sfumato technique of soft, smoky transitions between tones. Whether they actually met is uncertain, but Luini's sweet expressions and delicate modeling clearly derive from Leonardo's example.

Q: What subjects did Luini paint?

Luini painted religious subjects almost exclusively, including graceful female saints, tender Madonnas with Child, and large fresco cycles in Lombard churches. His work satisfies devotional needs while incorporating High Renaissance technical achievements. He rarely painted secular subjects or portraits.

Q: Where can I see Luini's frescoes?

His Passion and Crucifixion frescoes (1529) survive at Santa Maria degli Angeli in Lugano, Switzerland, considered among his finest works. Other major fresco cycles are at San Maurizio al Monastero Maggiore in Milan and the Santuario della Beata Vergine dei Miracoli in Saronno.

Renaissance

Italian·1480–1532

Renaissance painter Bernardino Luini (c. 1480-1532) became the leading Milanese artist of his generation by absorbing Leonardo da Vinci's style. Born in Runo near Lake Maggiore, he moved to Milan around 1500 and trained during Leonardo's second period in the city. Giorgio Vasari called him "a very delicate and pleasing painter" who imitated Leonardo so well he earned the nickname "Leonardo of Lombardy."

Luini's frescoes and panel paintings translate Leonardo's sfumato and sweetly smiling faces into more accessible religious imagery. His graceful female saints became widely admired, and his fresco cycles in Lombardian churches survive in remarkable condition. The Passion and Crucifixion frescoes (1529) at Santa Maria degli Angeli in Lugano represent his most ambitious work. Some scholars believe he contributed to works attributed to Leonardo, including controversially the Salvator Mundi. Today the Pinacoteca di Brera in Milan holds major paintings. Works also hang at the National Gallery London, Louvre, and the Hermitage.

Bernardino Luini

National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

Portrait of a Lady

Bernardino Luini

National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

Adoration of the Magi

Bernardino Luini

Louvre, Paris, Paris

About Bernardino Luini

Luini was a High Renaissance painter who worked in the Lombard tradition, heavily influenced by Leonardo da Vinci's style after the master's residence in Milan. Vasari called him the "Leonardo of Lombardy" for skillfully absorbing Leonardo's sfumato technique and gentle expressions in his own prolific output.

The Pinacoteca di Brera in Milan holds major works, including his graceful female saints and Madonnas. Paintings also hang at the National Gallery London and Louvre. His frescoes remain in Lombard churches throughout northern Italy.

Luini worked in Milan during Leonardo's residence there (1482-1499 and again 1508-1513), absorbing his sfumato technique of soft, smoky transitions between tones. Whether they actually met is uncertain, but Luini's sweet expressions and delicate modeling clearly derive from Leonardo's example.

Luini painted religious subjects almost exclusively, including graceful female saints, tender Madonnas with Child, and large fresco cycles in Lombard churches. His work satisfies devotional needs while incorporating High Renaissance technical achievements. He rarely painted secular subjects or portraits.

His Passion and Crucifixion frescoes (1529) survive at Santa Maria degli Angeli in Lugano, Switzerland, considered among his finest works. Other major fresco cycles are at San Maurizio al Monastero Maggiore in Milan and the Santuario della Beata Vergine dei Miracoli in Saronno.

Bernardino Luini

Notable Works by Bernardino Luini

Cruciferous Christus

Salome with the Head of Saint John the Baptist

Saint Catherine of Alexandria

The infant Jesus with a Lamb

The Holy Family

The Holy Family with Saints Anne and John

Salome with the Head of St. John the Baptist

Saint Catherine

Madonna of the Rose-bush

Madonna and Sleeping Child with Three Angels

Madonna and Child with Sts Catherine and Barbara

Christ Crowned with Thorns

Christ among the Doctors

Blessing Christ

Madonna of the Carnation

Portrait of a Lady

Adoration of the Magi

Museums with Bernardino Luini's Work

Private Collection

Louvre, Paris

National Gallery

State Hermitage Museum

National Gallery of Art

Kunsthistorisches Museum

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Budapest Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest

Pinacoteca di Brera

Biblioteca Ambrosiana, Milan

Related Artists

Raphael

Leonardo da Vinci

Michelangelo

Giotto di Bondone

Titian

Piero della Francesca

About Bernardino Luini

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