By Anne Leader
Lombard artist Cesare da Sesto died on 27 July 1523 in Milan. Born in the town of Sesto Calende in 1477, Cesare was one of the most accomplished followers of Leonardo da Vinci, whom he met in Milan and whose innovations with naturalism and sfumato he spread on his travels south to Rome, where he worked with Baldassarre Peruzzi and Raphael. By June 1508 Cesare was at work in the papal apartments of Julius II (Stanze), specifically working with Peruzzi in the pope’s bedroom. Cesare also worked in southern Italy, spreading Leonardo’s style to Naples and Sicily. It is unclear when Cesare returned to Milan, where he would finish out his career.
Reference: Andrea Bayer. “Cesare da Sesto.” Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press.
The Virgin and Child with the Lamb, ca. 1515, oil on panel. Milan: Museo Poldi Pezzoli, inv. 1617.
The Swooning Virgin Supported by Three Holy Women and Three Studies of Men (recto); Saint George and the Dragon (verso), pen and brown ink over red chalk. Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum, 86.GA.1
Holy Family with St. Catherine, ca. 1515-20, oil on canvas. St. Petersburg: Hermitage Museum.
The Holy Family with the Infant St. John the Baptist and an Angel, pen and brown ink over red chalk. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Gift of Harold K. Hochschild, 1940.