Name: Andrea Solario

Birth–Death Dates: c. 1465 – c. 1524

Location: Milan (with travels to Venice and France)

Personality Traits: Precise, refined, introspective, quietly devout

Marital Status: Not much is known about his private life

Intriguing Personal Details: Traveled to France in the early 1500s and worked for Cardinal Georges d'Amboise. He was one of the rare Italian Renaissance painters to bring Milanese style abroad. He is thought to have studied directly with Leonardo da Vinci or at least worked in close proximity to his circle, which had a deep influence on his later work.

Art Style: High Renaissance with a Lombard and Leonardesque sensibility

Subjects: Religious figures, portraits, Christ in suffering, saints with human emotion

Education/Background: Trained in the workshop of his brother Cristoforo Solari, a sculptor and architect; later developed his mature style under the influence of Leonardo and the Lombard school

Mentors and Influences: Leonardo da Vinci, Flemish painting (especially in his treatment of detail and texture), Giovanni Bellini

Esteem During Lifetime: Respected in Milanese and French circles; his works were collected by religious patrons and nobles alike, though he never achieved the fame of his Florentine contemporaries

Major Works:

Christ Carrying the Cross (Louvre)

Salome with the Head of Saint John the Baptist (Metropolitan Museum of Art)

Christ Blessing (Metropolitan Museum of Art)

Madonna with the Green Cushion (Louvre)

Inspirations: Leonardo’s sfumato and anatomical precision, the spiritual intensity of Flemish devotional art, and the quiet nobility of his sitters

Legacy: Though long overshadowed by more flamboyant contemporaries, Solario’s work is now appreciated for its emotional subtlety, masterful light, and cross-cultural refinement. His paintings bridge Northern precision and Italian lyricism.

Fun Facts:

His Madonna with the Green Cushion was long misattributed to Leonardo due to its delicate execution and tender atmosphere.

Solario was adept at rendering rich fabrics and translucent skin, showing a Flemish level of detail combined with Italian idealism.

He painted some of the earliest Italian portraits to experiment with strong psychological presence—years before it became standard.