Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio was born in Milan in 1467 into a wealthy family. A certain Gian Antonio is mentioned in 1491 in the studio of Leonardo da Vinci and identification with Boltraffio is generally accepted. He thus belongs, with Marco d'Oggiono and Bernardino Luini, to the first generation of Milanese leonardeschi. Boltraffio assimilates the progressive modeling by shadow, the retained expressions, the oblique glances and the three-quarter pose that Leonardo introduces into the portrait. However, he retains a sharper line and a more polished surface than his master. His portraits of young men and notables are distinguished by their psychological silence: dark or colorful background, close bust, closed mouth and attentive eyes give the model a strong interiority. He also painted numerous Virgins and Children, where gentle gestures, luminous and ordered draped skin tones translate the Leonardesque heritage into an accessible devotional form. In the 1490s, he collaborated with Marco d'Oggiono on a Resurrection of Christ. Around 1500, he worked in Bologna and created the Pala Casio, an altarpiece commissioned by the family of the poet Gerolamo Casio, today at the Louvre. Two other documented altarpieces, dated 1500, he worked in Bologna and created the Pala Casio, an altarpiece commissioned by the family of the poet Gerolamo Casio, today at the Louvre. Two other documented altarpieces, dated 1500, he worked in Bologna and created the Pala Casio, an altarpiece commissioned by the family of the poet Gerolamo Casio, today at the Louvre. Two other documented altarpieces, dated 1500, he worked in Bologna and created the Pala Casio, an altarpiece commissioned by the family of the poet Gerolamo Casio, today at the Louvre. Two other documented altarpieces, dated 1502 and 1508, confirm a recognized independent career 1516 at forty-nine years old, Boltraffio leaves a relatively small but essential corpus to understand how Leonardo's laboratory became a lasting Lombard school. The "Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio" selection notably compares Virgin and Child and The Resurrection of Christ with Saint Leonardo and Saint Lucy. His reading favors movement.
Boltraffio transforms Leonardo's invention into Milanese silence: the shadow shapes the face, but the gaze retains an almost sculpted precision.