LUINI, BERNARDINO (c.1475-e.1533). A Milanese painter, of the high Renaissance. He etas born at Luino. on Lake Maggiore, between 1475 and 1480, the son of Giovanni Lutero. His chief master was BorgoFnone (q.v.). with whom he labored in the decoration of the Chapel of San Maurizio, Milan. The years between 1521 and 1530 he spent in decorating churches at Milan, Saronno, and Lugano. He was a follower of Leonardo da Vinci. though there is no record of his ever having personally known or studied under that master. The earliest work attributed to Luini, a in the choir of Santa Maria della Passione at Milan (1510), shows the in fluence of Borgognone; but hi, paintings be tween the years 1510 and 1520. including many of his easel paintings, are in Leonardo's style. After 1520, though retaining the principles of Leonardo as the basis of his work, his frescoes show greater independence of execution and more individual power. He died soon after 1533.
He chose his subjects from the Bible, sacred legends, and mythology. His portrayal, while tender and sympathetic. appealing to the emotions rather than the intellect, is accurate. the :lotion good, and the coloring refined. His work is tran sitional. departing from the strength of the old masters and groping after the beauty of per fected Italian art. Be worked in oil, tempera, and fresco, but is most famous as a fresco painter, and he especially excelled in church adornment.
His most important frescoes are: "The Cruci fixion," in the Church of Santa Maria degli Angeli at Lugano; "Saint Catharine Borne by Angel,," the "Madonna Enthroned Between Saint Anthony and Saint Barbara." in the Brera Gallery, Milan; "Christ Crowned with Thorns," in the Am brosiana, Milan a series of frescoes in the Church of Santa Maria at Saronno, including a "Mar riage of the Virgin" and the "Presentation in the Temple:" another series in the Chapel of San Maurizio, Monastero Maggiore. Milan. and the decorations of Palazzo Litta. Milan, now in the Louvre. His easel paintings are especially nu merous in the public and private collections of Milan. In the Brera are two late Madonnas. one with a rose hedge; in the Ambrosiana "Tobias and the Angel." His best-known other works in chide: "Beheading of John the Baptist," in the Uffizi, Florence; "Modesty and Vanity," in the Seiarra Palace. Rome: "Jesus Among the Doc tors." in the National Gallery, London: "Birth of Christ." in the Berlin Museum: and "Hero dias," in the Louvre. Consult : La Fenestre, "Luini," in Gazette des Beaux Arts (1q1191, ii.; Gauthier, ib., vols. Williamson, Bernardino (London, 1899).