Domenico Induno

[1] He was apprenticed at an early age to the goldsmith and medalist, Luigi Cossa [it], who was impressed by his talent for drawing and convinced him to enroll at the Brera Academy.

In 1840, he obtained a commission from agents representing Emperor Ferdinand I to paint a scene depicting Saul being anointed king by the prophet Samuel, for display at the Imperial Gallery in Vienna.

[1] Over the next few years, he gradually abandoned history painting in favor of genre scenes, which were then in style among liberal members of the Milanese aristocracy.

[1] Later that year, he began working on several scenes related to the Armistice of Villafranca; one of which was commissioned by King Victor Emmanuel II and earned him a title in the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus.

[1] Ten years later, at the World Exposition in Vienna, he was awarded a gold medal for Un dramma domestico, a critique of society in post-unification Italy.