Bernardino Gatti (c.1495 – 22 February 1576) was an Italian painter of the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

, active mainly in

Parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...

and

Cremona Cremona ( , , ; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po (river), Po river in the middle of the Po Valley. It is the capital of the province of Cremona and the seat of the local city a ...

. He is also commonly called il Sojaro. He was born in or near

Pavia Pavia ( , ; ; ; ; ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, in Northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino (river), Ticino near its confluence with the Po (river), Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was a major polit ...

. His early apprenticeship is unclear, though he was influenced by the pre-eminent local painters:

Pordenone Pordenone (; Venetian language, Venetian and ) is a city and (municipality) in the Italy, Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, the capital of the Province of Pordenone, Regional decentralization entity of Pordenone. The name comes from Lati ...

, alongside whose works are many of Gatti's frescoes, as well as

Correggio Antonio Allegri da Correggio (August 1489 – 5 March 1534), usually known as just Correggio (, also , , ), was an Italian Renaissance painter who was the foremost painter of the Parma school of the High Renaissance, who was responsible for som ...

. Gatti worked for 12 years, 1560–72, in the fresco decoration of the cupola of the duomo of

, where he was assisted by

Bartholomaeus Spranger Bartholomeus Spranger or Bartholomaeus SprangerBartholomeus Spranger
at the

. His major works are the large fresco in the refectory of San Pietro in Cremona from 1552, frescoes in the dome of the

Santa Maria della Steccata The Shrine of Santa Maria della Steccata is a Christian cross variants, Greek-cross design Renaissance church in central Parma, Italy. The name derives from the fence () in the church. A Nursing Madonna is enshrined within, crowned on 27 May 1601 ...

(1560–66) in Parma, and his ''Assunta'' in the Duomo of Cremona. He also worked in Pavia (1531) and

Piacenza Piacenza (; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Piacenza, eponymous province. As of 2022, Piacenza is the ninth largest city in the region by population, with more ...

(1543). Among his most famous pupils are

Sofonisba Anguissola Sofonisba Anguissola ( – 16 November 1625), also known as Sophonisba Angussola or Sophonisba Anguisciola, was an Italian Renaissance painter born in Cremona to a relatively poor noble family. She received a well-rounded education that ...

and his nephew,

Gervasio Gatti Gervasio Gatti ( 1550 in either Cremona, Vercelli or Pavia – 1631) was an Italian painter during the late-Renaissance, active in Parma, Piacenza, and Cremona. He was also known as Il Soiaro (or ''Sojaro'') Gatti trained with his uncle Bernardi ...

Partial anthology of works

*''Last Supper'' and ''Resurrection'' (1529),

Cathedral of Cremona Cremona Cathedral (, ''Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta''), dedicated to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is a Catholic Church, Catholic cathedral in Cremona, Lombardy, northern Italy. It is the seat of the Bishop of Cremona. Its bell t ...

. *''Madonna of the Rosary'' (1531)

Cathedral of Pavia Pavia Cathedral () is a church in Pavia, Italy, the largest in the city and seat of the Diocese of Pavia. The construction was begun in the 15th century on the site of two pre-existing Romanesque, "twin" cathedrals (Santo Stefano and Santa Maria ...

. *''Life of the Virgin'' (1543),

Basilica di Santa Maria di Campagna, Piacenza The Basilica of Santa Maria di Campagna is a Roman Catholic basilica church in the city of Piacenza in the Province of Piacenza, Italy. It was built in a Greek-Cross plan with an octagonal dome in a high Renaissance style in the 16th century. His ...

. *''Crucifixion with Mary Magdalen, Sant'Agata, San Bernardo degli Uberti, & Angel'', (1566–1574), Chapel of Sant'Agata, Duomo of Parma. *''Assumption of Virgin'' (1560-1572),

Sanctuary of Santa Maria della Steccata The Shrine of Santa Maria della Steccata is a Greek-cross design Renaissance church in central Parma, Italy. The name derives from the fence () in the church. A Nursing Madonna is enshrined within, crowned on 27 May 1601 by a Marian devotee, Fra ...

, Parma. *''Pietà'', (Louvre) *''Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes'' Refectory in San Pietro al Po, Cremona. *''Coronation Virgin with Saints Benedetto and Bernardo'' (1572),

Abbey of Chiaravalle The Abbey of Santa Maria di Rovegnano () is a Cistercian monastic complex in the ''comune'' of Milan, Lombardy, northern Italy. The '' borgo'' that has developed round the abbey was once an independent commune called Chiaravalle Milanese, now in ...

, Milan. *''Assunta'' (1572),

Sources

Getty Museum biography on Gatti
*

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gatti, Bernardino 16th-century Italian painters Italian male painters Painters from Cremona Italian Renaissance painters 1576 deaths Year of birth unknown Year of birth uncertain Sofonisba Anguissola