Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio facts for kids

Madonna and Child (Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest)

Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio (born around 1466 or 1467 – died 1516) was a talented Italian painter. He lived during the High Renaissance, a famous time for art in Italy. Boltraffio came from Lombardy, a region in Italy. He was a student in the workshop of the famous artist Leonardo da Vinci.

Boltraffio and another artist named Bernardino Luini were two of the most important painters to learn from Leonardo. A writer named Giorgio Vasari said that Boltraffio came from a noble family. He was born in the city of Milan.

Boltraffio's Paintings and Art Style

Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio, Portrait of a Boy as Saint Sebastian

Boltraffio created many important paintings. In the 1490s, he worked with another student of Leonardo, Marco d'Oggiono. Together, they painted a work called Resurrection. This painting can now be seen in a museum in Berlin, Germany.

Another important painting is a Madonna and Child in the Museo Poldi Pezzoli in Milan. This artwork is considered a highlight of art from the Lombardy region during the 1400s.

Portraits and Madonna Paintings

Boltraffio often painted portraits, which are pictures of people. Many of his portraits showed people from the side, known as a profile view. He also painted many half-body pictures of the Madonna and Child. These paintings were inspired by Leonardo da Vinci's style.

However, Boltraffio's paintings had clear, sharp lines. This was different from Leonardo's famous sfumato technique. Sfumato made colors and tones blend softly, creating a hazy look. Boltraffio's art had a cleaner, harder edge.

Work in Bologna

From 1500 to 1502, Boltraffio lived and worked in Bologna, another city in Italy. There, he found people who supported his art, especially the Casio family. He painted several portraits for them.

He also created his most famous work for the Casio family. This painting is called the Pala Casio. It was made for the Church of the Misericordia and is now in the Louvre Museum in Paris. The painting shows the Madonna and Child with John the Baptist and Saint Sebastian. It also includes two people who paid for the painting, known as donors. These were Giacomo Marchione de' Pandolfi da Casio and his son, Girolamo Casio. Girolamo Casio was a poet from Bologna who even mentioned Boltraffio in some of his poems. Boltraffio's portrait of Girolamo Casio is now in the Pinacoteca di Brera in Milan.

See also

In Spanish: Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio para niños