Bernardino Lanino (Born 1512- Died 1583) was an Italian artist who trained locally with a little-known artist, after which he was associated with Vercelli's most important painter from 1530. Lanino reached the rank of master painter just after 3 years. His early works shows his teacher's delicate effects and gentle figure style, but he added his own misty, soft brushstrokes. Lanino became the region's leading painter after his teacher left to establish himself in Milan. From 1540 to 1560, Lanino made several visits to Milan and created frescoes and altarpieces. While in Milan he absorbed the strong influence of Leonardo da Vinci's chiaroscuro. And this same period he made many of his finest drawings, creating startling chiaroscuro effects using white bodycolor and black chalk heightening on brown prepared paper.
Lanino was known for his use of pen and wash with white highlights in his compositional studies that he accomplished. Examples of his soft style spread throughout Milan and the eastern Piedmont, and his sons also became painters in Vercelli. Throughout the 1560s and 1570s, Lanino's paintings were eagerly sought by patrons, and his workshop was amazingly prolific. His clients hired him with a goal in mind to acquire his original pieces of artwork for their homes that they knew they would be able to cherish for a lifetime. Lanino was a gifted artist and it was therefore no surprise that his art became popular very fast. Several years after his death, his art is still as popular and can be found with many collectors across Italy and beyond.
