Bernardino Luini
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.
Primary Genres
Notable Works by Bernardino Luini
17 paintings catalogued with museum locations
C
Cruciferous Christus
Bernardino Luini
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna
S
Salome with the Head of Saint John the Baptist
Bernardino Luini
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Boston
S
Saint Catherine of Alexandria
Bernardino Luini, 1527
Private Collection, Unknown
T
The infant Jesus with a Lamb
Bernardino Luini
Biblioteca Ambrosiana, Milan, Milan
T
The Holy Family
Bernardino Luini
Louvre, Paris, Paris
T
The Holy Family with Saints Anne and John
Bernardino Luini
Biblioteca Ambrosiana, Milan, Milan
S
Salome with the Head of St. John the Baptist
Bernardino Luini
Louvre, Paris, Paris
S
Saint Catherine
Bernardino Luini
State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg
P
Portrait of a Lady
Bernardino Luini
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
M
Madonna of the Rose-bush
Bernardino Luini
Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan
M
Madonna of the Carnation
Bernardino Luini
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
M
Madonna and Sleeping Child with Three Angels
Bernardino Luini
Louvre, Paris, Paris
M
Madonna and Child with Sts Catherine and Barbara
Bernardino Luini
Budapest Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest, Budapest
C
Christ Crowned with Thorns
Bernardino Luini
Biblioteca Ambrosiana, Milan, Milan
C
Christ among the Doctors
Bernardino Luini
National Gallery, London
B
Blessing Christ
Bernardino Luini
Louvre, Paris, Paris
A
Adoration of the Magi
Bernardino Luini
Louvre, Paris, Paris
Museums with Bernardino Luini's Work
10 museums display Luini's works. Click any museum to see visiting info and the specific works they hold.
Private Collection
Unknown, Unknown
1 work on display
Saint Catherine of Alexandria
+2
Louvre, Paris
Paris, France
5 works on display
Madonna and Sleeping Child with Three Angels
Blessing Christ
National Gallery
London, UK
1 work on display
Christ among the Doctors
State Hermitage Museum
St. Petersburg, Russia
1 work on display
Saint Catherine
National Gallery of Art
Washington, D.C., United States
2 works on display
Madonna of the Carnation
Portrait of a Lady
Kunsthistorisches Museum
Vienna, Austria
1 work on display
Cruciferous Christus
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Boston, USA
1 work on display
Salome with the Head of Saint John the Baptist
Budapest Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest
Budapest, Hungary
1 work on display
Madonna and Child with Sts Catherine and Barbara
Pinacoteca di Brera
Milan, Italy
1 work on display
Madonna of the Rose-bush
Biblioteca Ambrosiana, Milan
Milan, Italy
3 works on display
Christ Crowned with Thorns
The Holy Family with Saints Anne and John
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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.
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