Bernardino Reimagined | Deborah Lanino

Bernardino Lanino Reimagined

This is a project and a work in progress, that I have wanted to do since graduating from Pratt Institute, when I also studied a semester abroad at SACI in Florence, Italy. These works are now emerging in abstract and impressionistic paintings inspired by themes such as Faith, Hope and Love that reflect a contemporary view of traditional subject matter seen in Renaissance art. I use techniques such as chiaroscuro (lights and darks) and sfumato (blurring the edges) with a soft misty style, much like my direct ancestor Bernardino Lanino (1512-1582) Vercelli, Italy. My most recent piece is the Infinity Painting an abstract landscape based on a mathematical pattern that repeats diagonally into infinity.

Doves

Symbols in Renaissance Art

Throughout the centuries doves have appeared as symbols in numerous religious and secular settings but may be best known for its wide use in Christianity. Renaissance artists, such as Bernardino Lanino, utilized doves primarily in religious artwork to depict the third element of the trinity, the Holy Spirit. Shown above the figures in the painting, wings spread and often in a burst of light gives the dove an ethereal appearance, indicating its religious significance.

Bernardino Lanino

1512-1583

Baptism of Christ

Deborah Lanino

2019

18" x 36"

Dove 1

Acrylic on canvas

Deborah Lanino

2019

12" x 24"

Dove II

Acrylic on two 12"x 12" panels

Deborah Lanino

2019

Dove III

18" x 36"

Acrylic on canvas

Grid Series

This series of paintings signifies hope for a better future and the possibility for change. When times are dark, there is a tendency to want to just give up. Remember from history that the Dark Ages led to the Renaissance. Several of the works in this series were painted during the pandemic and to me they signifies hope for a better future. In these works, there is a composition based on the Greek Cross, that is orderly where priority is given to the whole over it's parts giving the work a sense of unity.

Deborah Lanino

2020

Unity

38" x 38"

Acrylic on canvas

Deborah Lanino

2020

Hope

38" x 38"

Acrylic on canvas

Deborah Lanino

2020

Faith

38" x 38"

Acrylic on canvas

Deborah Lanino

2019

Jacaranda II

36" x 36"

Acrylic on canvas

Deborah Lanino

2021

April Showers

38" x 38"

Acrylic on canvas

Deborah Lanino

2021

April Showers

36" x 36"

Acrylic on canvas

Angels

Artists of the Renaissance era painted characters called "putti," which looked like male babies or toddlers. These characters represented the presence of pure love around people and often sported wings like angels.

Bernardino Lanino

1512-1583

Musician Angel

Deborah Lanino

2021

Three Musician Angels

10" x 10"

Acrylic on board

Deborah Lanino

2018

8" x 10"

Musician Angel I

Acrylic on canvas

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Bernardino Lanino

1512-1583

Due teste di angeli

Deborah Lanino

2020

Deborah Lanino

2021

Two Angels

9” x 12”

Acrylic on paper

Deborah Lanino

2021

Two Blue Angels

9” x 12”

Acrylic on paper

Testa Femminile

Bernardino Lanino

1512-1583

Testa Femminile

Charcoal on paper

Deborah Lanino

2020

Testa Femminile II

20" x 20"

Acrylic on canvas

Deborah Lanino

2020

Testa Femminile I

8” x 10”

Gouache on paper

Bernardino Lanino

1512-1583

Madonna

Charcoal on paper

Deborah Lanino

2021

Madonna II

9” x 12”

Acrylic on paper

Deborah Lanino

2019

Madonna I

30" x 40"

Acrylic on canvas

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Bernardino Lanino

1512-1583

Head of a Female Saint

Black and white chalk on paper

Deborah Lanino

2021

Head of a Saint

9 x 12

Acrylic and chalk on paper

Abstractions

These works are inspired by themes and variations of classical compositions. Abstract art is an ideal vehicle for communicating spiritual realities for many reasons. It removes the viewer from the world they think they know and allows them to focus their contemplation on symbols, the experience of a work, or its meditative character.