Bernardino de 'Conti (di Conti or dei Conti) was an Italian Renaissance painter, born in 1465 in Castelseprio and died around 1525.
He is said to have been born as the son of "master Baldassarre", an obscure painter. Reported to have died in 1525, but the exact year is unknown since little is known about his life past 1522. A close apprentice to Leonardo da Vinci, he is best known for his oil portraits and to a lesser extent, religious renditions such as Madonna and Child.
Bernard Berenson argued that La Belle Ferronnière should be attributed to Bernardino de 'Conti, not Leonardo da Vinci.
Probably born in Castelseprio, in the province of Varese, he moved to Milan in 1494. His first commissions came at an early age with records showing payment for works Magister Bernardin de Comittibus de Castroseprio, filius magistri Baldessaris, port of Cumane, Parochie S. Protaxi intus, pintor mediolanensis, and for an altarpiece representing the Virgin and Child, intended for the Church of San Pietro in Gessate in Milan.
It's assumed that Bernadino moved to France in his early 30's. Between 1508 and 1522 he painted a series of oil portraits; many of them are now considered masterpieces. Through his work it is assumed that he temporarily lived-in, or was a frequent guest at Château d'Amboise, the home of Leonardo da Vinci (1516-1519). This is evidenced by the several portraits of Charles II d'Amboise, governor of Milan under Louis XII. Through this connection he was commissioned to paint multiple portraits for the Trivulzio family, Francesco Sforza (Vatican Pinacoteca), of Sisto della Rovere (Gemäldegalerie, Berlin), among others.
In 1522, he completed a Madonna, exhibited for a long time in Potsdam, but destroyed in 1945. After this date, the documentation on Bernardino remains uncertain.