The School of Ferrara was a group of
painters which flourished in the
Duchy of Ferrara during the
Renaissance. Ferrara was ruled by the
Este family, well known for its patronage of the arts. Patronage was extended with the ascent of
Ercole d'Este I in 1470, and the family continued in power till
Alfonso II, Ercole's great-grandson, died without an heir in 1597. The duchy was then occupied in succession by Papal and Austrian forces. The school evolved styles of painting that appeared to blend influences from
Mantua,
Venice,
Lombardy,
Bologna, and
Florence.
The ties to
Bolognese School were particularly strong. Much of the local collections, like those of the
Gonzaga family in Mantua, were dispersed with the end of the Este line in 1598. Especially in the late 15th century Ferrara was also a main centre of
engraving in Italy. The most famous
prints it produced are the two sets traditionally, if inaccurately, known as the
Mantegna Tarocchi, each by an unidentified master. A list of painters of the School of Ferrara, with the page for the title entry in Camillo Laderchi's 1856 artist biography, includes:
Freedberg, Sydney J. (1993). Pelican History of Art (ed.). Painting in Italy, 1500–1600. Penguin Books Ltd.
Francis P. Smyth and John P. O'Neill (Editors in Chief (1986). National Gallery of Art, Washington DC (ed.). The Age of Correggio and the Carracci: Emilian Painting of the 16th and 17th Centuries. {{
cite book}}: |author= has generic name (
help)
Camillo Laderchi (1856). La pittura ferrarese, memorie. Googlebooks.