Bernardino LuiniItalian, 1480–1532St Catherine
Can I see it?
Yes, on view now
Where is “St Catherine” now? State Hermitage Museum, Room 215, Saint Petersburg. Yes, on view now. Checked August 29, 2026.
Saint Petersburg, Russia
Open now· until 9:00 PM
On public display.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the painting
Museum text in Russian
Полотно «Святая Екатерина» поступило в Эрмитаж как произведение Леонардо да Винчи, существующая ныне атрибуция была сделана в 1864 г. Бернардино Луини – один из самых известных художников миланской школы, последователь Леонардо. Он часто повторял любимые темы и типы Леонардо, виртуозно передавал сфумато – мягкую дымку светотени, как бы окутывающую предметы. Картина решена в глубоких спокойных коричневых и золотистых тонах, которые подчеркивают густой благородный малиновый цвет одежды святой. По сторонам от нее два маленьких ангела держат пальмовую ветвь – атрибут мученичества – и колесо с шипами, на котором, по преданию, святую Екатерину за приверженность христианскому учению, повелел казнить римский император Максимин (310).
State Hermitage Museum
Details
- Accession number
- ГЭ-109
In the catalog
Sources
- State Hermitage Museum
- Image: State Hermitage Museum — Museum open access
In the life of Bernardino Luini
The whole life1500
Moves to Milan with his father
Together with his father, the landowner Giovanni Donato de Scapis, Bernardino de Scapis — a native of Runo (Dumenza) near Luino on Lake Maggiore, hence the name “Luini” — moves to Milan. Accounts of his teachers differ: according to Lomazzo he trained under Giovan Stefano Scotto, while others consider him a pupil of Ambrogio Bergognone.
1504–1507
Lives in the Veneto, probably in Treviso
Luini lived in the Veneto and, probably, in Treviso, where he associated with the city's Lombard architects — the Lombardo family and the brothers Lorenzo and Giovan Battista Bregno. This is apparently attested by a “Madonna with Child” signed “Bernardinus Mediolanensis faciebat”, whose attribution remains disputed.
1509
Returns to Milan with a commission for a polyptych
Of the polyptych he was commissioned to paint, only “St Anthony of Padua” in the Museo Poldi Pezzoli survives today. Luini's early paintings are in a late Gothic style reminiscent of Bergognone, who is considered his direct mentor.
c. 1510
Marries Margherita Lomazzo
They had four sons — Tobia, Evangelista, Giovanni Pietro and Aurelio; the last two became painters and carried on their father's work after his death in 1532.
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.
1532
Died
