Dosso Dossi

Dosso Dossi
self-portrait
Born	1490 Mantua
Died	1542 Ferrara
Nationality	Italian
Education	Lorenzo Costa
Known for	Painting
Movement	Italian Renaissance
Patron(s)	Alfonso I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara, Ercole II d'Este, Duke of Ferrara

Dosso Dossi (c. 1490 – 1542), real name Giovanni di Niccolò de Luteri, was an Italian Renaissance painter who belonged to the School of Ferrara, painting in a style mainly influenced by Venetian painting, in particular Giorgione and early Titian.

From 1514 to his death he was court artist to the Este Dukes of Ferrara and of Modena, whose small court valued its reputation as an artistic centre. He often worked with his younger brother Battista Dossi, who had worked under Raphael. He painted many mythological subjects and allegories with a rather dream-like atmosphere, and often striking disharmonies in colour. His figures cannot be said to be very well drawn. His portraits also often show rather unusual poses or expressions for works originating in a court.

Dossi was born in San Giovanni del Dosso, a village in the province of Mantua. His early training and life is not well documented; his father, originally of Trento, was a bursar (spenditore or fattore) for the Dukes of Ferrara. He may have had training locally with Lorenzo Costa or in Mantua, where he is known to have been in 1512. By 1514, he would begin three decades of service for dukes Alfonso I and Ercole II d'Este, becoming principal court artist. Dosso worked frequently with his brother Battista Dossi, who had trained in the Roman workshop of Raphael. The works he produced for the dukes included the ephemeral decorations of furniture and theater sets. He is known to have worked alongside il Garofalo in the Costabili polyptych. One of his pupils was Giovanni Francesco Surchi (il Dielai).

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Wikipedia