Lorenzo Costa

Lorenzo Costa (1460–1535) was born in Ferrara and had moved to Bologna by his early twenties. Because many artists worked in both cities, he is claimed by both the Bolognese and the Ferrarese schools, and he may have trained with Cosimo Tura. In 1483 he painted the Bentivoglio Altarpiece and frescoes on the walls of the Bentivoglio chapel in San Giacomo Maggiore, Bologna. He was a close friend of Francesco Francia, who was much influenced by him. In 1509 he moved to Mantua as court painter to Francesco Gonzaga and Isabella d'Este, and for her studiolo in the Ducal Palace he painted two mythologies based on drawings by Mantegna, the Allegory of Isabella d'Este's Coronation and the Reign of Comus. He died in Mantua, and his sons Ippolito and Girolamo were also painters. Here: Saint Philip and Saint Veronica.