Sitemap

The History of Art And The Curious Lives of Famous Painters

 

Ercole de’Roberti

1450-1496

 Renaissance Artist Associated with the Ferrara School of Painting

Stylistically influenced by the following painters  - Giovanni di Paolo, Andrea Mantegna, Masaccio and Giovanni Bellini

Cause of Death -  unknown

 
 

 

Biography

 Ercole de Roberti was the most important painter of the 15th-century school of Ferrara. He was employed as the principle court painter to the Estes, a super wealthy Italian noble family and celebrated patrons of the arts. His work consisted largely of religious themes overflowing with breathtaking dramatic elements. Ercole de Roberti's  most famous masterpiece is his 'Pieta', circa 1495. This artwork was originally created for the church of San Giovanni in Monte, Bologna. It  is considered one of the greatest masterpieces of the Ferrarese School .

                                            Ferrarese School

Distinguished author and historian, John C. Van Dyke
 asserts t"The painters of Ferrara, in the fifteenth century, seemed to have relied upon Padua for their teaching. The best of the early men was Cosimo Tura (1430-1495), who showed the Paduan influence of Squarcione in anatomical insistences, coarse joints, infinite detail, and fantastic ornamentation. He was probably the founder of the school in which Francesco Cossa (fl. 1435-1480), a naif and strong, if somewhat morbid painter, Ercole di Giulio Grandi (fl. 1465-1535), and Lorenzo Costa (1460?-1535) were the principal masters. Cossa and Grandi, it seems, afterward removed to Bologna, and it was probably their move that induced Lorenzo Costa to follow them. In that way the Ferrarese school became somewhat complicated with the Bolognese school, and is confused in its history to this day. Costa was not unlikely the real founder, or, at the least, the strongest influencer of the Bolognese school. He was a painter of a rugged, manly type, afterward tempered by Southern influences to softness and sentiment. This was the result of Paduan methods meeting at Bologna with Umbrian sentiment.
"

 

 

About The High Renaissance Period

The early Renaissance was partly ignited by several great teachers and philosophers. Vittorino da Feltre, (1373-1446) of Mantua in Italy and Lorenzo Valla, (1407-1454) of . He based his teachings upon rediscovered writings of ancient Greek and Roman philosophers and statesmen. Principally Quintilian, Cicero, Aristotle, and Plato. Renaissance humanism is a movement which is based upon classical Greek and Roman literary writings and philosophical teachings. Artists of the Renaissance were elevated in social standing and their art was no longer looked upon as simple handicrafts, but as divinely inspired creations. The spirit of an era awoke, revitalized with knowledge and creativity. Although art still served a specific functions, which were primarily religious, painters added more of their individual spirit and personal vision to their creations. John Ruskin, famous art historian stated, "The art of any country is the exponent of its social and political virtues . The art, or general productive and formative energy, of any country, is an exact exponent of its ethical life. you can have noble art only from noble persons, associated under laws fitted to their time and circumstance."

The major painters of the Renaissance were not only artists but men of great genius who gave the world their great intellectual gifts. Florentine and Venetian painting were both formed by extraordinary personalities. These independent creative geniuses tackled mathematical, artistic and philosophical problems of the highest interest, and presented solutions that have never lost their value. The sense of humanism pervading renaissance painting is still palpable. The painters touched on a multitude of  issues regarding the human condition - death, love, reason, religion, universal morality, social problems.

 
   
   

Key Descriptive Words  and Phrases associated with the Renaissance Movement rebirth, rediscovery of the classical world,  publication of Della Pittura, a book about the laws of mathematical perspective for artists,  sfumato, chiaroscuro, Savonarola, spiritually significant,  illuminated manuscript,  idealized biblical themes, scriptorium, illuminator, , Age of Discovery, curiosity about the natural world,  realistic use of colours and  light,  Bonfire of the Vanities, Old Testament stories, ethereal and foggy backgrounds, The Blackdeath, Gospel parables, romanticized landscapes,  Christian symbolism.

Require more facts and information about  Ercole de Roberti and the artists of the renaissance era? Poke around every nook and cranny of the known universe for information this subject. Search Here

© HistoryofPainters.com If you like this page and wish to share it, you are welcome to link to it, with our thanks.

If you feel you have worthwhile information you would like to contribute we would love to hear from you. We collect essential biographical information and artist quotes from folks all over the globe and appreciate your participation. When submitting please, if possible, site the source and provide English translation. Email to millardmulch@gmail.com

 


 

Major Painters of the Italian High Renaissance

Andrea del Sarto
Mariotto Albertinelli
Fra Bartolommeo
Jacopo Bassano
Giovanni Bellini 
Domenico Brusasorci
Giulio Campi
Domenico Di Michelino
Lorenzo Costa
Dosso Dossi
Francesco Francia
Garofalo
Ridolfo Ghirlandaio
Giorgione
Leonardo da Vinci
Lorenzo Lotto
Bernardino Luini
Michelangelo Buonarroti
Baldassare Peruzzi
Piero di Cosimo
Jacob Tintoretto
Marcantonio Raimondi
Raphael
Titian