Bernardino Luini

Milanese, c. 1480 - 1532

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16th century Italian painter (1475-1532)

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A nearly nude woman with pale, pink skin reclines along golden-yellow grass with a grove of trees behind her to our right and a landscape with rocky cliffs along a rippling shoreline to our left in this horizontal painting. Her legs extend to our left, and her body is tipped to face us, her hips stacked. Her left elbow, to our right, is propped on a swell in the ground to lift her torso. She looks off to our left with hazel-brown eyes under faint, curving brows. Her skin is smooth and shadows blur the corners of her eyes and mouth. She has a straight, long nose, and her rose-pink lips are closed. Her copper-brown hair is pulled back and up, and wraps around her head. A long, teardrop-shaped pearl hangs from the ear we can see. With both hands, she holds the ends of a translucent cloth that wraps around her hips, legs, and across her back, leaving her round, high breasts exposed. Ruby-red and white fabric lies in a heap near her feet, and a gold and pearl piece of jewelry, perhaps a necklace, drapes over the swell in the ground near her propped elbow. Small, finely detailed mauve-pink, white, or butter-yellow flowers grow in the grass around her. The land curves back along the right edge of the painting, to a grove of trees with sage and deep green leaves. An aquamarine-blue river separates her and the trees from the rocky outcroppings and towns beyond. An arched bridge spans the river and leads to a path that winds along the undulating shoreline. Buildings cluster on a rocky cliff near the bridge and a second grouping indicates another town farther along the shore. Topaz-blue clouds billow up over indigo-blue mountains in the deep distance, against a sky painted in the same jeweled blue tones.
Bernardino Luini, Venus, c. 1530, oil on panel, Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1939.1.120

Venus

Bernardino Luini · c. 1530 · oil on panel ·  Accession ID  1939.1.120

Shown from the waist up, a woman with smooth, pale skin looks out at us from the corners of her wide-set hazel eyes in this vertical painting. Against a nearly black background, her body is angled to our left and wavy, auburn hair cascades down her back. Her hair is arranged into a bow shape over a thin, pale pink ribbon, and delicate tendrils frame her face and fall over her shoulders. She has thin brows, and her long, straight nose is wide at the bridge. Her pale, coral-pink lips are closed in a slight smile. She is lit from our left so shadows engulf the corners of her eyes and lips, and her far cheek, to our right, is shaded. Her moss-green gown has a golden-brown panel across the chest and voluminous, puffy sleeves. The green sleeves fall back over the deep folds of the white garment she wears underneath, and the dress is tied with a pink sash just below her bust. She holds the flaring foot of an oyster-white lidded vessel, like a miniature urn, with one hand and tips the conical lid up with the other.
Bernardino Luini, The Magdalen, c. 1525, oil on panel, Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1961.9.56

The Magdalen

Bernardino Luini · c. 1525 · oil on panel ·  Accession ID  1961.9.56

Shown from the waist up, a young woman with pale, peachy skin faces and looks directly at us in this vertical portrait painting. The subtly upturned corners of her mouth and the outer corners of her eyes are touched with shadows. Her delicate eyebrows are faintly painted over dark brown eyes. She has a long straight nose and an oval-shaped face framed by large teardrop pearl earrings. Her dark brown hair is parted down the middle and pulled back under a wide, gold-colored headdress, which creates a halo-like ring around her head. Precisely formed curls rest against her forehead over each temple. Her black dress has voluminous, puffy sleeves framing a sheer, butter-yellow panel covering her chest. White ruffles emerge at her neck and cuffs. A gold Maltese cross, which flares at the end of each arm, hangs from a thick gold chain that falls over her chest and down to her waist. She touches the chain with her left hand, on our right, and with the other she holds the body of a small furry brown animal with bared teeth. The background behind the woman is black down the center and a dark emerald-green curtain falls to either side.
Bernardino Luini, Portrait of a Lady, 1520/1525, oil on panel, Andrew W. Mellon Collection, 1937.1.37

Portrait of a Lady

Bernardino Luini · 1520/1525 · oil on panel ·  Accession ID  1937.1.37

Bernardino Luini, Procris Pierced by Cephalus' Javelin, c. 1520/1522, fresco, Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1943.4.56

Procris Pierced by Cephalus' Javelin

Bernardino Luini · c. 1520/1522 · fresco ·  Accession ID  1943.4.56

Bernardino Luini, The Despair of Cephalus, c. 1520/1522, fresco, Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1943.4.58

The Despair of Cephalus

Bernardino Luini · c. 1520/1522 · fresco ·  Accession ID  1943.4.58

Bernardino Luini, Procris' Prayer to Diana, c. 1520/1522, fresco, Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1943.4.52

Procris' Prayer to Diana

Bernardino Luini · c. 1520/1522 · fresco ·  Accession ID  1943.4.52

Bernardino Luini, Cephalus Hiding the Jewels, c. 1520/1522, fresco, Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1943.4.53

Cephalus Hiding the Jewels

Bernardino Luini · c. 1520/1522 · fresco ·  Accession ID  1943.4.53

Bernardino Luini, Cephalus and the Nymphs, c. 1520/1522, fresco, Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1943.4.57

Cephalus and the Nymphs

Bernardino Luini · c. 1520/1522 · fresco ·  Accession ID  1943.4.57

Bernardino Luini, Procris and the Unicorn, c. 1520/1522, fresco, Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1943.4.60

Procris and the Unicorn

Bernardino Luini · c. 1520/1522 · fresco ·  Accession ID  1943.4.60

Bernardino Luini, Cephalus Punished at the Hunt, c. 1520/1522, fresco, Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1943.4.55

Cephalus Punished at the Hunt

Bernardino Luini · c. 1520/1522 · fresco ·  Accession ID  1943.4.55