Cosimo Tura

Tura was employed as court artist at the d'Este court of Ferrara, first by Borso d'Este and then by Ercole I. He was the first great Ferrarese artist. His highly decorative style emerges from what is known as International Gothic, modified by the sculptural qualities of North Italian art. He was especially indebted to Andrea Mantegna.

Nothing is known of Tura's artistic education; the influence of Piero della Francesca has sometimes been detected in his pictures. Tura was one of the first painters in Italy to master the oil technique of the Netherlandish painters, such as Rogier van der Weyden, whose work was known in Ferrara. His closest affinity is with the group centred on Padua, and trained by Squarcione or deeply indebted to his art, such as Mantegna. Tura may have been in Padua in the years 1452-6(?).