The School of Ferrara was a group of

painters Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

which flourished in the

Duchy of Ferrara The Duchy of Ferrara ( la, Ducatus Ferrariensis; it, Ducato di Ferrara; egl, Ducà ad Frara) was a state in what is now northern Italy. It consisted of about 1,100 km2 south of the lower Po River, stretching to the valley of the lower Reno ...

during the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

. Ferrara was ruled by the Este family, well known for its patronage of the arts. Patronage was extended with the ascent of

Ercole d'Este I Ercole I d'Este KG (English: ''Hercules I''; 26 October 1431 – 25 January 1505) was Duke of Ferrara from 1471 until 1505. He was a member of the House of Este. He was nicknamed ''North Wind'' and ''The Diamond''. Biography Ercole was born i ...

in 1470, and the family continued in power till Alfonso II, Ercole's great-grandson, died without an heir in 1597. The duchy was then occupied in succession by Papal and Austrian forces. The school evolved styles of painting that appeared to blend influences from

Mantua Mantua ( ; it, Mantova ; Lombard and la, Mantua) is a city and '' comune'' in Lombardy, Italy, and capital of the province of the same name. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the Italian Capital of Culture. In 2017, it was named as the Eur ...

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

, Lombardy,

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 1 ...

, and

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...

. The ties to Bolognese School were particularly strong. Much of the local collections, like those of the

Gonzaga family ) , type = Noble house , country = , estates = Ducal Palace (Mantua)Ducal Palace (Nevers) , titles = * Prince of Arches * Duke of Montferrat * Duke of Mantua * Duke of Guastalla * Duke of Nevers * Duk ...

in Mantua, were dispersed with the end of the Este line in 1598. Especially in the late 15th century Ferrara was also a main centre of

engraving Engraving is the practice of incising a design onto a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an in ...

in Italy. The most famous prints it produced are the two sets traditionally, if inaccurately, known as the

Mantegna Tarocchi The Mantegna Tarocchi, also known as the Tarocchi Cards, Tarocchi in the style of Mantegna, Baldini Cards, are two different sets each of fifty 15th-century Italian old master prints in engraving, by two different unknown artists. The sets are ...

, each by an unidentified master. A list of painters of the School of Ferrara, with the page for the title entry in Camillo Laderchi's 1856 artist biography, includes:

14th century and before

* Gelasio di Nicoló, p20 *

Cristoforo da Bologna Cristoforo da Bologna was an Italian painter. He was active in Bologna, Modena, and Ferrara Ferrara (, ; egl, Fràra ) is a city and ''comune'' in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital of the Province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. ...

, p28 *

Antonio Alberti Antonio Alberti was an Italian painter, active mainly in the 15th century in his native city of Ferrara, as well as Bologna and Urbino. Biography He painted portraits and sacred subjects. For the sacristy of the church of San Bernardino, outside ...

, p29

15th century

* Galasso Galassi *

Cosimo Tura Cosimo is the Italian form of the Greek name ''Kosmas'' (latinised as '' Cosmas''). Cosimo may refer to: Characters * Cosimo Piovasco di Rondò, hero of Italo Calvino's 1957 novel ''The Baron in the Trees'' Given name Medici family * Cosimo ...

, p30 *

Francesco Cossa Francesco del Cossa (c. 1430 – c. 1477) was an Italian Renaissance painter of the School of Ferrara (Painting), School of Ferrara, who after 1470 worked in Bologna. Cossa is best known for his frescoes, especially his collaboration with Cosim ...

, p32 * Bono da Ferrara, p33 *

Stefano da Ferrara Stefano da Ferrara was an Italian painter from Ferrara who active in the latter half of the 15th century. Biography The dates of his birth and death are uncertain. He is described by Vasari as having been the friend of Mantegna. He filled the ch ...

, p37 *

Baldassare Estense Baldassare Estense (ca. 1443 - after 1504) was an Italian painter. He was born in Reggio, has been supposed to have been an illegitimate scion of the house of Este, since no mention of his father's name ever occurs in contemporary records, whil ...

, p38 *

Antonio Aleotti Antonio Aleotti (died 1527) was an Italian painter, first mentioned in records in 1494 and active in Ferrara. Born in Argenta, he is also known as Antonio dell'Argento. He painted frescoes in the Chiesa della Morte in Ferrara. His altarpiece ...

, p39 *

Ercole Grandi Ercole Grandi (–before 1 November 1525) was an Italian painter of the early-Renaissance period, active mainly in Ferrara. Also known as Ercole da Ferrara and Ercole di Giulio Cesare Grandi, he has been claimed to be a favourite pupil of the pain ...

, p51 * Ludovico Mazzolino, p54 *

Michele Cortellini Michele Coltellini (1480–1542) was an Italian painter, active mainly in Ferrara. Biography He was a follower of Panetti and Garofalo, who lived in the 16th century. He is the author of a 'Dead Christ on the lap of the Virgin' in the Dresden ...

, p39 *

Ercole de' Roberti Ercole de' Roberti (c. 1451 – 1496), also known as Ercole Ferrarese or Ercole da Ferrara, was an Italian artist of the Early Renaissance and the School of Ferrara. He was profiled in Vasari's ''Le Vite delle più eccellenti pittori, sculto ...

Lorenzo Costa Lorenzo Costa (1460 – 5 March 1535) was an Italian painter of the Renaissance. Biography He was born at Ferrara, but moved to Bologna by his early twenties, and was probably influenced by the Bolognese School. However, many artists worked in ...

, p57 * Francesco and Bernardino Zaganelli da Cotignola, p58 * Benedetto Coda, p59 *

Boccaccio Boccaccino Boccaccio Boccaccino (c. 1467 – c. 1525) was a painter of the early Italian Renaissance, belonging to the Emilian school. He is profiled in Vasari's '' Le Vite delle più eccellenti pittori, scultori, ed architettori'' (or, in English, ' ...

* Domenico Panetti, p61 * Giovanni Battista Benvenuti (also called L'Ortolano Ferrarese) (1490–1525) * Taddeo Crivelli

16th century

* Nicolo Pisano * Dosso Dossi, p62 * Giovanni Battista Dossi *

Girolamo da Carpi Girolamo Da Carpi (1501 – 1 August 1556) was an Italian painter and decorator who worked at the Court of the House of Este in Ferrara. He began painting in Ferrara, by report apprenticing to Benvenuto Tisi (il Garofalo); but by age 20, he had ...

, p105 * Niccolò Roselli, p109 *

Benvenuto Tisi Benvenuto Tisi (or Il Garofalo) (1481September 6, 1559) was a Late-Renaissance-Mannerist Italian painter of the School of Ferrara. Garofalo's career began attached to the court of the Duke d'Este. His early works have been described as "idyllic ...

(il Garofalo), p73 * Ludovico Mazzolino *Sigismondo Scarsella, p124 * Scarsellino (Ippolito Scarsella), p125 * Costanzo Cattanio * Giovanni Francesco Surchi * Camillo Ricci, p135 * Domenico Mona, p121 * Sebastiano Filippi (Bastianino) * Gaspare Venturini, p137 * Giovanni Andrea Ghirardoni, p138 * Giovanni Paolo Grazzini, p138 * Jacopo Bambini, p139 * Giulio Cromer, p140

17th–18th centuries

* Carlo Bononi (also active in Bologna and Mantua), p141 * Alfonso Rivarola, p153 *Giovanni Battista della Torre, p154 * Camillo Berlinghieri, p155 * Ippolito Caselli, p155 * Francesco Naselli, p156 * Ercole Sarti, p157 * Giovanni Francesco Barbieri (Guercino) born in

Cento The Middle East Treaty Organization (METO), also known as the Baghdad Pact and subsequently known as the Central Treaty Organization (CENTO), was a military alliance of the Cold War. It was formed in 24 February 1955 by Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Tur ...

, p159 *Paolo Antonio Barbieri, p168 * Benedetto Genari the elder, p158 *Cesare Genari, p170 * Giuseppe Caletti, p170 * Ludovico Lana, p172 *

Francesco Costanzo Cattaneo Francesco Costanzo Catanio, (1602 – July 3, 1665) was a painter of the Italian Baroque period, born and mainly active in Ferrara. He was variously known as Catanio, Cattani, Cattaneo, or Cattanio, sometimes without the forename Francesco. ...

, p172 * Giuseppe Bonati, p173 *

Giuseppe Avanzi Giuseppe Avanzi (August 30, 1645 – May 29, 1718) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, mainly active in Ferrara Ferrara (, ; egl, Fràra ) is a city and ''comune'' in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital of the Province of Ferra ...

, p175 *Orazio and Cesare Mornasi, p175 *Francesco and Antonio Ferrari, p176 * Francesco Scala, p177 * Maurelio Scanavini, p178 * Giacomo Parolini, p179 *

Giuseppe Zola Giuseppe Zola (5 March 1672 – 27 March 1743) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, mainly active in Ferrara. He mainly painted landscapes with small figures. Born in Brescia, where he studied with Giuseppe Tortelli. His sister was als ...

, p181 * Giovanni Francesco Braccioli, p182 * Antonio Contri, p183 *

Giuseppe Ghedini Giuseppe Antonio Ghedini (1707 – 5 June 1791) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, mainly active in Ferrara. Biography Born in Ficarolo in the province of Rovigo. He trained with Giacomo Parolini. He became professor of painting at th ...

, p183 * Giovanni Monti, p184 * Alberto Muchiatti, p184 * Giuseppe Santi, p184 * Giovanni Masi, p185

References

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External links