He was innate to an artistically inclined kindred. His genitrix was the stepdaughter of Pietro Antonio Gualdi (1716-c.1784), a well-known territorial paintress of religious works, and his brother Marco (1780-1843) also became a plein-airist, although none of his works have been positively identified. After show an talent to draw at an early age, Luigi was sent to the "Scuola di Pittura e Scenografia" in Milan, where he designed with Alessandro Sanquirico. He may have afflict Rome at this opportunity, and repay to Bergamo in 1825.