Andrea Solari

Andrea Solari (born 1465, Milan—died 1524, Milan) was a Renaissance painter of the Milanese school, one of the most important followers of Leonardo da Vinci.

Solari received his early training from his brother Cristoforo, a distinguished sculptor and architect. He probably accompanied his brother to Venice, where he seems to have been strongly influenced by Antonello da Messina, as can be seen in a fine portrait, A Man with a Pink [Carnation] (c. 1495), which displays Antonello’s sculptural conception of form. Solari’s earliest dated work is a Madonna and Child with Saint Joseph and Saint Simeon, with a fine landscape background, executed for the Church of San Pietro Martire at Murano in 1495. The Leonardesque facial type of the Madonna suggests that after his return from Venice Solari was strongly influenced by the great Florentine artist. The coloring and lush atmospheric effects of his well-known The Virgin breastfeeding the Child (1507–10; called The Virgin with the Green Cushion also reveal Leonardo’s influence, but its animated composition displays Solari’s own artistic temperament.

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In 1507 Solari went to France and may have visited Flanders before returning to Italy. This would account for the Flemish character of his later works, such as the Rest on the Flight into Egypt (1515), with its harmonious and detailed landscape background. To this period belong the Lute Player (c. 1510) and the Portrait of Girolamo Morone (c. 1515–22), which vividly recalls the style of Hans Holbein the Younger.