Apostles and saints

ca 1520-1550 · Fresco · 90.8 × 262.3 cm

Can I see it?

Not on view at present

Where is “Apostles and saints” now? Collection: Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Not on view at present. Checked September 25, 2026.

Victoria and Albert Museum

London, United Kingdom

It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.

Checked: 16 days ago
In this state since: Sep 25, 2026
Source: The museum

On the map Museum page

About the painting

This fresco fragment depicting Apostles and Saints once formed the lower right part of a lunette depicting the Ascension of Christ. It was originally in the Oratory of Santa Maria della Passione, next to San Ambrogio, Milan. Painted in the style of the Milanese painter and draughtsman Bernardino Luini (born ca 1480–85; died before 1 July 1532) it probably dates to the second quarter of the sixteenth century.

The Oratory of Santa Maria della Passione was sold to the Administration of San Ambrogio in 1812 and turned into a cloth factory. In 1869 it passed into private ownership and it was at this time that the main scenes of the wall decoration were detached. Part of the series re-appeared in England in 1898 when a group of nine fragments were sold through Fosters' sales rooms. Three of these were purchased by the South Kensington Museum, now the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Victoria and Albert Museum

Details

Accession number: 361-1898

What it shows

Apostles Saints

In the catalog

Paintings Fresco Italian painting Renaissance 16th century Milan (city)

Sources

Victoria and Albert Museum
Image: Wikimedia Commons — Public domain

In the life of Bernardino Luini

The whole life

1521
Travels to Rome and falls under Raphael's influence
Raphael's influence is evident in the subsequent frescoes in the Villa La Pelucca (1520–1523) and in other works now in the Brera.
1531
Returns to Saronno to complete further frescoes
In 1531 Luini returns to the Saronno sanctuary to complete other frescoes.
1532
Died

All works