Prolific frescoist and draftsman; it is probable that Gambara trained in the Campi workshop at Cremona, before returning to Brescia in 1549. There, he became an assistant to Gerolamo Romanino (1484/87-[?]1560), marrying the latter's daughter, Margherita, in 1556. Thenceforth, he continued to work mainly in his native Brescia, but also spent periods in Mantua, Cremona, and Parma. In the '1550s, he collaborated with Romanino on various fresco cycles, but also worked independently, such as at the Case del Gambero, Brescia (c. 1557). Following his master's death in 1560, Gambara became the leading artist in the city. His style in that decade was subsequently influenced by that of Giulio Romano (c. 1499-1546), evident both in the frescoes executed at the Broletto Palace (destroyed) and in his Nativity for SS. Faustino e Giovità, both Brescia. From 1567 he frescoed the nave of Parma cathedral with the Cremonese artist, Bernardino Gatti (c. 1495-1576). His life was cut short when he fell from scaffolding while working in S. Lorenzo, Brescia (Turner, N.: From Michelangelo to Annibale Carracci. A century of Italian drawings from the Prado, Art Services International-Museo Nacional del Prado, 2008, p. 116).