Bernardo Zenale (c. 1460 – 1526) was an Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 painter and architect.

Biography

Zenale was born in Treviglio

Treviglio

Treviglio is a town and comune in the province of Bergamo, in Lombardy, northern Italy. It lies 20 km south of the capital city, in the lower territory called "Bassa" marked by the Adda and the Serio rivers....

, Lombardy

Lombardy

Lombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region, making it the most populous and richest region in the country and one of the richest in the whole of Europe...

, where in 1485 he finished the great polyptych

Polyptych

A polyptych generally refers to a painting which is divided into sections, or panels. The terminology that follows is in relevance to the number of panels integrated into a particular piece of work: "diptych" describes a two-part work of art; "triptych" describes a three-part work; "tetraptych"...

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

Bernardino Butinone

Bernardino Butinone 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....

. Later he collaborated to the decoration of the Certosa di Pavia

Certosa di Pavia

The Certosa di Pavia Gra-Car , Shrine of the Blessed Virgin Mary Mother of Grace, is a monastery and complex in Lombardy, northern Italy, situated near a small town of the same name in the Province of Pavia, 8 km north of Pavia...

. Subsequently he was engaged by Ludovico Sforza

Ludovico Sforza

Ludovico Sforza , was Duke of Milan from 1489 until his death. A member of the Sforza family, he was the fourth son of Francesco Sforza. He was famed as a patron of Leonardo da Vinci and other artists, and presided over the final and most productive stage of the Milanese Renaissance...

, Duke of Milan, to paint a room in the Castello Sforzesco

Castello Sforzesco

Castello Sforzesco is a castle in Milan, Italy, that used to be the seat and residence of the Duchy of Milan and one of the biggest citadels in Europe and now houses several of the city's museums and art collections.-History:...

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

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.The architect was either Guiniforte Solari or his son Pietro Antonio. The church has a nave and two aisles, with square-plan, groin vaulted spans, flanked by two...

.

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

Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer whose genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance...

 starting to appear in his works. This is manifest in the polyptych that he painted for the Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception of Cantù

Cantù

Cantù 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:...

 (1502). He was influenced also by Bernardino Luini

Bernardino Luini

Bernardino Luini was a North Italian painter from Leonardo's circle. Both Luini and Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio were said to have worked with Leonardo directly; he was described to have taken "as much from Leonardo as his native roots enabled him to comprehend". Consequently many of his works were...

's style: works like the Pala Busti and the large Annunciation (both in the Pinacoteca di Brera) have indeed raised disputes about the attribution to Luini or Zenale.

Zenale worked also in Brescia

Brescia

Brescia is a city and comune in the region of Lombardy in northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, between the Mella and the Naviglio, with a population of around 197,000. It is the second largest city in Lombardy, after the capital, Milan...

 (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. In 1522 he replaced Giovanni Antonio Amadeo

Giovanni Antonio Amadeo

thumb|260px|The Colleoni Chapel in Bergamo.Giovanni Antonio Amadeo was an Italian early Renaissance sculptor, architect, and engineer....

 in the direction of works of the Duomo di Milano

Duomo di Milano

Milan Cathedral is the cathedral church of Milan, Italy. Dedicated to Santa Maria Nascente , it is the seat of the Archbishop of Milan, currently Cardinal Angelo Scola....

.