around 1435 - around 1478 · Ferrara Renaissance, Schifanoia palace and sculptural relief

Cut shapes, mineral colors, precious costumes and scholarly stories make Francesco del Cossa one of the most original creators of the Renaissance in Ferrara and Bologna.

Francesco del Cossa was born around 1435 in Ferrara, son of a stonemason. This artisanal environment perhaps illuminates the sculptural density of his figures and his taste for firmly constructed surfaces. Documented in 1456, it was formed in the surroundings of the Este courtyard, where the inventions of Cosmè Tura, the art of Mantegna, the circle of Squarcione and the sculpture of Donatello nourished a very unique local school. Cossa participated before 1470 in the great cycle of the Months of the Schifanoia Palace. In March, April and May, each wall combines the triumph of a divinity, astrological signs and activities of the government of Borso d'Este before 1470. Peasants, courtiers, horses, architecture and deities coexist in a scholarly order, saturated with precious details and colors. Dissatisfied with the payment calculated according to the surface area rather than according to the quality of his work, Cossa sent a famous letter to the duke then left Ferrara for Bologna. He received important commissions there, notably the polyptych of Saint Vincent Ferrier. His style softens without losing its power. The Annunciation constructs the sacred encounter in a rigorous architecture crossed by unexpected details; Trajan's Justice organizes the moral story in a rigorous architecture crossed by unexpected details; Trajan's Justice organizes the moral story in a rigorous architecture crossed by unexpected details; Trajan's Justice organizes the moral story like a public stage. Trajan's Justice organizes the moral story like a public stage. Trajan's Justice organizes the moral story like a public stage. Trajan's Justice organizes the moral story like a public stage. Trajan's Justice organizes the moral story like a public stage. Trajan's Justice organizes the moral story like a public stage. Trajan's Justice organizes the moral story like a public stage. Trajan's Justice organizes the moral story like a public stage. Trajan's Justice organizes the moral story like a public stage. Trajan's Justice organizes the moral story like a public stage. Trajan's Justice organizes the moral story like a public stage. Trajan's Justice organizes the moral story like a public stage. Trajan's and the next generation. Died around 1478, he left a brief but essential work, situated between court culture, astrology, devotion and urban invention. The "Francesco del Cossa" selection notably compares the Month of March and April. His reading favors movement.

Cossa paints like a court sculptor: the color is mineral, the figure cut, and every detail belongs to a learned machine of signs and stories.