Bernardo (or Bernardino) Zenale (c. 1460 – 1526) was an Italian painter and architect.

Biography

Zenale was born in

Treviglio Treviglio (, Bergamasque: ) is a town and ''comune'' (i.e. municipality) in the province of Bergamo, in Lombardy, Northern Italy. It lies south of the province capital, in the lower territory called "Bassa Bergamasca". It's also part of the geog ...

Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...

, where in 1485 he finished the great

polyptych A polyptych ( ; Greek: ''poly-'' "many" and ''ptychē'' "fold") is a painting (usually panel painting) which is divided into sections, or panels. Specifically, a "diptych" is a two-part work of art; a "triptych" is a three-part work; a tetrapty ...

for the church of St. Martin, together with his fellow

Bernardino Butinone Bernardino Butinone (1435 or 1436 – c. 1507 or 1508) was an Italian painter of the Renaissance, active mainly around Milan. Born in Treviglio, Lombardy, he was the son of Jacopo da Treviglio, and also known as ''Bernardo da Treviglio''. ...

. Like Butinone, he is said to have trained with

Vincenzo Civerchio Vincenzo Civerchio or Civercio (c. 1470c. 1544) was an Italian painter of the Renaissance, born at Crema, and active also in Brescia, where there are some of his alter-pieces. One of his works is at the National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., ...

. Later he collaborated to the decoration of the

Certosa di Pavia The Certosa di Pavia is a monastery and complex in Lombardy, Northern Italy, situated near a small town of the same name in the Province of Pavia, north of Pavia. Built in 1396–1495, it was once located on the border of a large hunting ...

. Subsequently, he was engaged by

Ludovico Sforza Ludovico Maria Sforza (; 27 July 1452 – 27 May 1508), also known as Ludovico il Moro (; "the Moor"). "Arbiter of Italy", according to the expression used by Guicciardini,

Duke of Milan The following is a list of rulers of Milan from the 13th century to 1814, after which it was incorporated into the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia by the Congress of Vienna. Before elevation to duchy Until 1259, Milan was a free commune that elect ...

, to paint a room in the

Castello Sforzesco The Castello Sforzesco (Italian for "Sforza's Castle") is a medieval fortification located in Milan, northern Italy. It was built in the 15th century by Francesco Sforza, Duke of Milan, on the remnants of a 14th-century fortification. Later reno ...

of that city. Also with Butinone, he frescoed the Grifi Chapel in the church of

San Pietro in Gessate San Pietro in Gessate is a church in Milan, northern Italy. Built in the 15th century, it is a noteworthy example of Gothic architecture. Description The architect was either Guiniforte Solari or his son Pietro Antonio. The church has a nave and ...

. After circa 1500, Zenale seemed to abandon the Ferrarese-expressionist style of Butinone, a strong influence from

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, Drawing, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially res ...

starting to appear in his works. This is

manifest Manifest may refer to: Computing * Manifest file, a metadata file that enumerates files in a program or package * Manifest (CLI), a metadata text file for CLI assemblies Events * Manifest (convention), a defunct anime festival in Melbourne, Aus ...

in the polyptych that he painted for the Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception of

Cantù Cantù (; Brianzöö: ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Province of Como, located at the center of the Brianza zone in Lombardy. It is the second largest city in Brianza. History The name could stem from that of the Canturigi, a population of I ...

(1502Now divided between the

J. Paul Getty Museum The J. Paul Getty Museum, commonly referred to as the Getty, is an art museum in Los Angeles, California housed on two campuses: the Getty Center and Getty Villa. The Getty Center is located in the Brentwood, Los Angeles, Brentwood neighborhood ...

of Los Angeles

the

Bagatti Valsecchi Museum, Milan The Bagatti Valsecchi Museum is a historic house museum in the Montenapoleone districof downtown Milan, northern Italy. The Bagatti Valsecchi Museum's permanent collections principally contain Italian Renaissance decorative arts (such as maiolic ...

and the

Museo Poldi Pezzoli The Museo Poldi Pezzoli is an art museum in Milan, Italy. It is located near the Teatro alla Scala, on Via Manzoni 12. The museum was originated in the 19th century as a private collection of Gian Giacomo Poldi Pezzoli (1822–1879) and his m ...

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

). He was influenced also by

Bernardino Luini Bernardino Luini (c. 1480/82 – June 1532) was a north Italian painter from Leonardo's circle during the High Renaissance. Both Luini and Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio were said to have worked with Leonardo directly; he was described as having ...

's style: works like the ''Pala Busti'' and the large ''Annunciation'' (both in the

Pinacoteca di Brera The Pinacoteca di Brera ("Brera Art Gallery") is the main public gallery for paintings in Milan, Italy. It contains one of the foremost collections of Italian paintings from the 13th to the 20th century, an outgrowth of the cultural program of ...

) have indeed raised disputes about the attribution to Luini or Zenale. Zenale worked also in

Brescia Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo. ...

(the noteworthy ''Deposition'' in the church of St. John the Evangelist). In 1510 he painted a ''Madonna with Child between St. Ambrose and St. Jerome'', for the church of St. Francis in Milan, now in

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

. In 1522 he replaced

Giovanni Antonio Amadeo 260px, Amadeo, Milan Cathedral 260px, The Colleoni Chapel in Bergamo. Giovanni Antonio Amadeo (c. 1447 – 27 or 28 August 1522) was an Italian Renaissance sculptor of the Early Renaissance, architect, and engineer. Biography Amadeo was born in ...

in the direction of works of the

Duomo di Milano Milan Cathedral ( it, Duomo di Milano ; lmo, Domm de Milan ), or Metropolitan Cathedral-Basilica of the Nativity of Saint Mary ( it, Basilica cattedrale metropolitana di Santa Maria Nascente, links=no), is the cathedral church of Milan, Lombard ...

Sources

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Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zenale, Bernardo 1460s births 1526 deaths People from Treviglio 15th-century Italian painters Italian male painters 16th-century Italian painters 16th-century Italian architects Italian Renaissance architects Architects from Milan Painters from Lombardy