Francesco del Cossa (c. 1430 – c. 1477) was an Italian Renaissance painter of the School of Ferrara, who after 1470 worked in

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

. Cossa is best known for his

fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...

es, especially his collaboration with Cosimo Tura on a cycle of the months in the

Palazzo Schifanoia Palazzo Schifanoia is a Renaissance palace in Ferrara, Emilia-Romagna (Italy) built for the House of Este, Este family. The name "Schifanoia" is thought to originate from "schifare la noia" meaning literally to "escape from boredom" which descri ...

of the Este family, rulers of Ferrara. Otherwise, his paintings are mostly of religious subjects, with some portraits and drawings attributed to him. He also designed

stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

Biography

Francesco was the son of a stonemason in

Ferrara Ferrara (; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, capital of the province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main ...

, little is known about his early works, although it is known that he travelled outside of Ferrara in his late twenties or early thirties. One of the first records we have of him is in 1456 when he was an assistant to his father, Cristofano del Cossa, at that time employed in painting the carvings and statues on the high altar in the chapel of the bishop's palace at

. One of his followers was Leonardo Scaletti of

Faenza Faenza (, ; ; or ; ) is an Italian city and comune of 59,063 inhabitants in the province of Ravenna, Emilia-Romagna, situated southeast of Bologna. Faenza is home to a historical manufacture of majolica-ware glazed earthenware pottery, known ...

Allegorical frescoes in the Palazzo Schifanoia

In conjunction with Cosimo Tura, Cossa is now known for fresco decoration of the summer pleasure villa/palazzo known as the

. Together, they painted a series of elaborate allegories around the themes of zodiac signs and months of the year. These were only partially restored in the 20th century, and there are three that are reasonably assigned to Cossa. Of these, one of the most remarkable images is the horde of naked toddlers in the ''Allegory of May – Triumph of Apollo''. Apparently a sign of springtime's prolific blossoming, the crowded rows of babies mass like a phalanx of infantile Rockettes. The ''Allegory of April'' has a depiction of the trio of Graces, one of the earliest Post-classical representations of the naked intertwined dancers in painting.

Sandro Botticelli Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi ( – May 17, 1510), better known as Sandro Botticelli ( ; ) or simply known as Botticelli, was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance. Botticelli's posthumous reputation suffered until the late 1 ...

's version in '' Primavera'' dates from 1482. See the 1501 version of the '' Three Graces'' (now at Chantilly). Assuming the date of death of Cossa is correct, this one must have been completed prior to the others.

Cossa in Bologna

Unhappy that he had been paid by the square foot for his work for Duke Borso and complaining he was being paid the same as the "worst dauber in Ferrara", Cossa left Ferrara for

in 1470.

In Bologna, he obtained many commissions under the patronage of the Bentivoglio family. Here he painted his two masterpieces: the ''Virgin and Child with two saints and a portrait of Alberto de' Catanei'' (1474) and fresco of the Madonna del Baracano, representing the ''Virgin and Child with portraits of Giovanni Bentivoglio and Maria Vinziguerra'' (1472). He executed stained glass windows in Bologna, the best of which is a circular window, in the church of San Giovanni in Monte, representing St. John in Patmos. This bears his signature. In the

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of more than 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current di ...

of London, there is a picture by him representing St. Vincent Ferrer. There is a fine profile portrait at Locko Park near Derby, said to represent Duke Ercole I of Ferrara. In the Dresden collection there is also an ''Annunciation''.

Anthology of works

*''Annunciation and Nativity'' (1470–1472 Dresden Gemäldegallerie alte Meister) *:''St Claire'' (1470-1472,

Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum The Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum (, ; named after its founder, Baron Heinrich Thyssen, Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza), or simply the Thyssen, is an art museum in Madrid, Spain, located near the Museo del Prado, Prado Museum on one of the city ...

, on deposit at the Museo Nacional de Arte de Cataluña) *:''St Catherine'' (1470-1472,

, on deposit at the Museo Nacional de Arte de Cataluña) * *:''St Vincent Ferrer'' (1473, National Gallery, London) *:''St Peter'' (1473, Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan) *:''St John the Baptist'' (1473, Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan) *:'' St Florian'' 1473,National Gallery of Art, Washington) *:''St Lucy'' (1473, National Gallery of Art, Washington) *:''The Crucifixion'' (1473, National Gallery of Art, Washington) *:''St Petronius'' (1473, Palazzo dei Diamanti, Ferrara) *:''11 other small pictures from altarpiece (1473, ?, ?) *''Madonna with the Child and Saints'' (1474, Pinacoteca Nazionale, Bologna) *''Virgin and Child with an Angel'' (1460,

Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya The (; ), abbreviated as MNAC (), is a museum of Catalonia, Catalan visual art located in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Situated on Montjuïc hill at the end of Avinguda de la Reina Maria Cristina, near Plaça d'Espanya, Barcelona, Pl Espanya, th ...

, Barcelona) *Frescoes for Hall of Months, Palazzo Schifanoia, Ferrara (before 1470?) *:''Allegory of April: Triumph of Venus'' *:''Allegory of May: Triumph of Apollo'' *:''Allegory of March: Triumph of Minerva'' *''

Polyhymnia Polyhymnia (; ), alternatively Polymnia (Πολύμνια), is, in Greek mythology, the Muse of sacred poetry, sacred hymn, dance and eloquence, as well as agriculture and pantomime. Etymology Polyhymnia name comes from the Greek words "poly" ...

, the Muse of Many Songs'' *''Portrait of a Man with a ring'' (1472-1477,

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

)

In contemporary culture

The stained glass window was revealed to be the final answer of the Great Google Earth Treasure Hunt. Del Cossa features as one of the two protagonists in Ali Smith's novel '' How to Be Both'', short-listed for the 2014 Man Booker Prize.Ali Smith 2014, ''How to be both''. .

References

Sources

* * * *''Encyclopedia of Artists, volume 2'', edited by William H. T. Vaughan, , 2000

External links

Web Gallery of Art
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cossa, Francesco Italian Renaissance painters Painters from Ferrara Quattrocento painters 1430s births 1470s deaths Italian male painters 15th-century Italian painters