Painter, born in Bologna on 7 May 1837, son of the musician Giuseppe. He enters the Venturoli Art School at the age of twelve and attends the Academy of Fine Arts in Bologna following the courses of Clemente Alberi and Napoleone Angiolini. From the early years of his studies he obtained school prizes and awards in various subjects and participated in the annual exhibitions of 1852 and 1853, presenting some drawings. From the very beginning, however, he shows himself to be completely independent from academic teaching, to which he prefers the suggestions of Gaetano Serrazanetti, a teacher at the Venturoli College. In 1855 he made his debut for the first time with an important work, "Jacob's meeting with Rachel", at the Exposition of the Protectress, who bought the work. At the 1857 Protectress he exhibited "Nicolò de 'Lapi before the torture" and collected many praises from the press. He also achieved considerable success the following year with "Jeffe's daughter" reproduced among other things in the Milanese magazine Gemme d’arte Italiane. In 1858, after winning the Pensionato Angiolini, he moved to Rome to continue his studies. In this city Busi finds the appropriate stimuli for his own luministic interests and, in a broad sense, for the renewal of historical painting in a realist direction. Towards the end of 1860 he returned to Bologna where, with Tito Azzolini and Luigi Bazzani, he was involved in the realization of the sets of Giuseppe Verdi's Rigoletto, for the Teatro di San Giovanni in Persiceto. Meanwhile, he continues to attend the Venturoli College following the first steps of Raffaele Faccioli and Luigi Serra with his own teachings. In the post-unification artistic panorama, Busi represents the advanced point of the modern school. With his presence at the Regional Exhibition of 1863, where he presents nine works, he provokes a heated debate within the jury, amidst prudent and enthusiastic comments. Also on this occasion he also received some official recognition such as the Honorable Mention for the canvas depicting "The last hours of Doge Foscari" and the appointment as honorary professor, with vote, at the Academy. In 1864 he exhibited to the Protector Felsinea the painting "Torquato Tasso and Cardinal Cinzio Aldobrandini in the convent of Sant'Onofrio in Rome", certainly the most important early painting by Busi, which demonstrates all his ability to blend a naturalistic breath with colors, shapes and the effects of light and shadow, in a vivid, almost photographic way. The painting was purchased, in the same year, for the modern collections of the Academy of Fine Arts, at a cost of 1,800 lire. In 1867 he was chosen to be sent to the Universal Exposition in Paris, where he received several positive reviews. During the 1960s Busi's activity, with participation in the most important national events, was very intense and culminated in 1870 with the award ceremony at the II National Exhibition held in Parma for his "Condolence visit", purchased two years earlier. at the Brera Exhibition, by the Princess of Piedmont. In 1873 at the Universal Exhibition in Vienna he exhibited "Maternal complacency" and "Joy of pain" where he was awarded a medal. How much it was now appreciated in Bologna is witnessed by the newspaper L'Ancora of 15 August 1874: "From today to Tuesday from 10 am to 4 pm in the study of Prof. Luigi Busi, located in the Bentivoglio palace, they are exhibited to the public three paintings just completed for the Milan Exposition - Uncertainty - Maternal joys - La commendatizia - The admission ticket is set at 25 cents for the benefit of the Marine Hospices. We excite our readers to come all to this exhibition , and thus give a little help to an institution that has made itself so much good deserves the people ". In 1875 he was awarded, for the work "Consequences of a marriage celebrated with a religious rite only", the prize of 4,000 lire, destined by Prince Umberto I for the best work of the exhibition; in Naples, in 1877, he won the prize of 1,000 lire for "The visit to the puerpera". In 1878 he was at the Universal Exhibition in Paris with "Amor di madre". In 1881 he was present at the National Exhibition in Milan with "The name day of Bebè". On all these occasions, the Bolognese artist also achieved great success with the public. Although easel painting is the most important aspect of his activity, Busi does not abandon the great commissions and decoration works. In 1871, on behalf of the Marquis Pizzardi, he painted a large canvas of Risorgimento subject depicting "The annexes". But the work that once again places Busi at the center of the artistic debate is the large altarpiece depicting "The martyrdom of Saints Vitale and Agricola", completed and placed on the high altar of the homonymous Bolognese church, in 1873. The painting differs radically from the tradition of local sacred painting, it represents the artist's attempt to engage the "realist" reform in this field, already made in the previous decade for historical painting. Other works carried out by Busi for religious purposes are in the chapel of Villa Hercolani Belpoggio in Bologna with the paintings "Adoration of the Magi and some cherubs" and in the Sanctuary of the Madonna del Piratello, near Imola (Bologna), with the murals "Otto figures of angels ”and“ Scenes illustrating the history of the Madonna del Piratello ”(1881-1883), carried out in collaboration with the painter Alessandro Guardassoni. Among the works for civil use we remember: the decorations in the staircase of Palazzo Pighini in Imola and the paintings in the Teatro Comunale in Bologna, made between 1861 and 1866, in collaboration with the painter Luigi Samoggia and the Red Room of Palazzo Comunale in Bologna. Luigi Busi died in Bologna on May 31, 1884.