Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio

Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio (1467-1516), Italian painter of the Lombard school, born in Milan. Of noble birth, Boltraffio was taught in the old Milanese school of Vincenzo Foppa (15th century) and Vincenzo Civerchio (early 16th century). Boltraffio greatly matured under the teaching of Italian Renaissance master Leonardo da Vinci, of whom he was an ardent admirer as well as a pupil. He studied with Leonardo at Milan in 1485, and most of his canvases reflect the influence of Leonardo. However, Boltraffio’s colors are brighter and his contrasts between light and shade are more vigorous than Leonardo’s are. Boltraffio worked in Bologna about 1500 and visited Rome about 1513. The frescoes of San Onofrio in Rome and of the choir of San Maurizio, Milan, are his works. Boltraffio was an admirable portraitist. Boltraffio's works include Madonna of the Casio Family (Louvre, Paris, France), The Virgin and Child (Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest, Hungary), Saint Barbara (Gemäldegal, Berlin, Germany), and Saint Sebastian (Pushkin Museum, Moscow, Russia).