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Discover the Renaissance in Ferrara

Discover the Renaissance in Ferrara - The Officina Ferrarese

Ferrara boasts a great cultural flowering during the Renaissance in which great protagonists of the arts have left an indelible mark on the city. In fact, the Renaissance in Ferrara can be felt in every corner of the city: among the captivating views, magnificent palaces and graceful gardens.

A further opportunity to learn all there is to know about the Ferrara Renaissance is the exhibition ‘Rinascimento a Ferrara. Ercole de' Roberti e Lorenzo Costa' inaugurated on 18 February at Palazzo dei Diamanti. A finely arranged itinerary to explore the important role of the Officina Ferrarese within the national panorama.

USEFUL INFORMATION

Renaissance in Ferrara. Ercole de’ Roberti e Lorenzo Costa
Ferrara, Palazzo dei Diamanti
18 February 2022 - 19 June 2023

Palazzo dei Diamanti Ferrara

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The Ferrara Renaissance

The seigniory of Borso d'Este began in 1450 and continued uninterruptedly until 1471. 

Although Lionello, the previous duke, projected the image of the introverted intellectual, Borso cultivated the princely virtue of 'magnificence'.

Borso gave great impetus to figurative activities so that he could show himself in a flourishing cultural context. He thus determined the formation of a local 'school' of artists such as Cosmè Tura and Francesco del Cossa to legitimise the court's status. Among the most admirable fruits of this school are the Schifanoia frescoes, considered the greatest secular pictorial cycle of the Renaissance.

Ercole de’ Roberti 

Ercole de' Roberti made his very early debut by participating in the fresco cycle in Palazzo Schifanoia. 

His biography is full of mysteries and, for a long time, the fact that he was referred to by two different names led to the belief that there were two 'Ercole' active in the area. Ercole was born in 1450 (circa) and trained in Ferrara, growing up in a rich and stimulating cultural climate. 

Heir to the art of Cosmè Tura and Francesco del Cossa, through his work he attempted to blunt the rigidity of his predecessors and achieve a classical balance.

He became a 'court painter' in Ferrara and his mastery was recognised by Vasari, who defined his famous diptych (the Bentivolesco diptych) as "the most beautiful diptych portrait of the entire 15th century Italy, after that of Piero (della Francesca)".

A curious fact: despite the great amount of work he did and the fame he achieved, Ercole de' Roberti never achieved wealth.  And at his death, he left an inglorious list of debts and an even drier note of payment. According to Vasari, with little clemency towards him, he loved wine too much and suggested that the reasons for his death could be found in it.

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Lorenzo Costa  

Moving from the master to the apprentice, Lorenzo Costa is considered the real heir of Ercole de' Roberti. He is attributed with the ability to remodel the master's painting style, bringing it into line with his times. 

Born in Ferrara in 1460, he began his activity in Bologna where he met Ercole de' Roberti and began training with him. The sweetness and gentleness of his figures earned him the name 'Perugino of Upper Italy'.

From Bologna, he moved to Mantua where he experienced a period of particular fame until his death in 1535. His last known work is the altarpiece depicting 'Saint Sylvester dedicating the city of Mantua to the Virgin'.

A curious fact: after the destruction of the church of San Silvestro in 1788, the altarpiece was moved to the church of Sant'Andrea, where Costa designated his own burial place. Thus, the altarpiece can be considered a kind of spiritual testament of the artist.


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Shades of Renaissance

Early Renaissance painting in Ferrara is rich in openings to other territories and intellectual and artistic exchanges. The exhibition 'Renaissance in Ferrara. Ercole de' Roberti and Lorenzo Costa' focuses on these aspects and intends to consolidate the certainty that in the history of Italian art, the Officina Ferrarese remains one of the most singular cases of innovation and exceptional mastery.

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Palazzo Dei Diamanti Ferrara