Ercole de' Roberti was probably trained in Ferrara. His work stylistically followed that of Cossa, who may have been his master, and Tura. According to d'Este ducal records, he mostly executed decorative works for the d'Este court which ruled Ferrara. Other North Italian influences on his highly idiosyncratic paintings include the work of Giovanni Bellini and Mantegna.
Debate surrounds the identification of Roberti and the attribution of paintings to him. Early sources refer to three different names - Ercole de' Roberti, Ercole Grande and Ercole da Ferrara. One important artist, Ercole de' Roberti, emerges who may (or may not) be all three.
Ercole de' Roberti is first documented as being in Ferrara in 1479. In 1480 he painted an altarpiece for the church of S. Maria in Porto, Ravenna (Milan, Brera), which illustrates the influence of Antonello da Messina and Giovanni Bellini. Before 1486 Ercole worked in Bologna on the frescoes decorating the walls of the Garganelli Chapel, which were widely admired (only one fragment depicting a woman in lamentation survives, in the Pinacoteca, Bologna). From 1487 onwards the artist is recorded as back in Ferrara, and employed by the d'Este family.
Ercole de' Roberti
active 1479; died 1496
Paintings by Ercole de' Roberti
This small panel is painted in fine detail, resembling a precious painted miniature or illuminated manuscript. It formed the left side of a diptych (a work of two parts) joined with a central hinge; the other side showed The Dead Christ. Joseph, the Virgin Mary and a shepherd in torn clothes pray...
This little picture formed the right side of a diptych (a work of two parts). It was joined with central hinges to The Adoration of the Shepherds. Ercole made this for the Duchess of Ferrara, Eleonora of Aragon, when he was court painter at Ferrara. Eleonora’s personal prayer centred on the Corpu...
The Adoration of the Shepherds and The Dead Christ were originally joined with hinges to form a diptych – an object made up of two painted panels – that could open and close, creating a visual prayer book. It probably belonged to Eleonora of Aragon, Duchess of Ferrara. An inventory of her posses...
Not on display
Jesus sits at the head of the table, surrounded by his disciples, holding up a piece of bread, which he blesses: this is the Last Supper. Ercole’s skill at painting detail on a small scale is clear: each disciple has a different facial expression, and the transparent glasses, the carafes and the...
Not on display
The Old Testament book of Exodus describes how the Jews fled from Egypt and crossed the desert to the land of Israel. Every morning they woke up to find the ground miraculously covered with an edible substance that looked like frost – they called this ‘heavenly bread’ manna and said it tasted lik...
Not on display
This long panel is a twentieth-century copy of the predella of an altarpiece by Francesco del Cossa and Ercole de‘ Roberti made for the Griffoni chapel of the church of S. Petronio, Bologna. The original predella, attributed to Ercole de’ Roberti, is in the Vatican Museums, Rome.It shows scenes f...
Not on display