The Art of Ercole de' Roberti
Joseph Manca
Cambridge University Press
1992
This book concerns the art and life of the Ferrarese painter Ercole de Roberti (1456-1496). Roberti's style was marked by the fascinating peculiarities characteristic of the Ferrarese school of the fifteenth century, while we can also see the influence on his style of artists such as Giovanni Bellini and Netherlandish engravers. He worked for years in Bologna before settling permanently in 1486 in Ferrara, where he became the official court painter for the Este. An introductory section includes a brief history and description of Ferrarese art of the Quattrocentro. The text includes an outline of Roberti's career, a discussion of his works, and a look at the artist's critical fortunes. A catalogue raisonne and a catalogue of rejected attributions supplement the text. A transcription of all of the known documents indicates the full range of Roberti's work. Roberti's works were highly prized by his contemporaries and later Renaissance writers, and his paintings and drawings are made with fine skill and craftsmanship. It is hoped that this book will help to acquaint the reader with Roberti's rich and inventive art.