The Adolescent Saviour

Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio painted this image of the Adolescent Saviour around 1490 in Milan. As Leonardo da Vinci's most accomplished pupil, Boltraffio specialized in devotional half-length figures that combined Leonardesque sfumato with a distinctly Lombard sensitivity. The youthful Christ type became one of his signature subjects, reflecting the devotional tastes of Milanese patrons. This work belongs to the High Renaissance, when the innovations of the preceding century were synthesized into works of monumental clarity and ideal beauty.

Oil on panel with refined sfumato modeling of the youthful face. The soft transitions between light and shadow demonstrate Boltraffio's mastery of Leonardo's tonal technique.