Cosimo Tura

(also Cosme Tura). Born 1429 or 1430 in Guarda Ferrarese, Emilia-Romagna; died there April 1495. Italian painter. Representative of the Ferrarese school of the quattrocento.

Tura studied with Ferrarese and Paduan masters of the mid-15th century and was influenced by the later Donatello and Andrea del Castagno. In 1451, Tura became court artist to the dukes of Este. His work, although typical of the Renaissance in most respects, shows the influence of the late Gothic. Tura’s idiosyncratic use of the late Gothic elements is most apparent in his expressive forms and in the mannered gestures and tense facial expressions of his figures. Tura’s work is characterized by precise, severe drawing and resonant, cold colors. The artist’s principal works are the Allegorical Figure (c. 1462, National Gallery, London), the frescoes of the Palazzo Schifanoia (c. 1470), the Pieta (c. 1472, Correr Museum, Venice), and the Roverella altar-piece (1474), parts of which are housed in the National Gallery in London and in other collections.