Bernardino Luini

LEONARDO’S FOLLOWERS: BERNARDINO LUINI. If you’ve never heard about Luini, that’s probably not surprising. But he was actually one of the most accomplished, and also one of the most mysterious of the Leonardeschi. There is very little documentation about this life; in fact, his name doesn’t even appear on the rolls of the Milanese artists’ guild of the Scuola di San Luca.

Nevertheless, he was clearly a very accomplished follower of Leonardo’s style. His most famous work is “Christ Among the Doctors,” now in the National Gallery in London, where I find myself at the moment. The detail of Christ’s robe is exquisite, as is the treatment of the hands, while the face of Jesus is clearly influenced by Leonardo’s studies for the face of Christ in the Last Supper.

It is even possible that Luini used a drawing by Leonardo as his model. Such a drawing could have been made in response to a request by Isabella d’Este, Marchioness of Mantua, who asked Leonardo to paint “a portrait of Jesus as a young man, of about twelve years old, at the age when he disputed in the Temple.” What she was particularly looking for, the Marchioness wrote, was “that sweetness and soft ethereal charm, which is the peculiar excellence of your art.”

If Luini’s painting is any guide, that drawing must certainly have met the noblewoman’s request. Stay tuned for more features about the mysterious group of “Leonardeschi,” Leonardo’s followers, about which so little is known today. Or visit www.YoungLeonardo.net for more information.