Dosso Dossi

Lutero, Giovanni de

Ferrarese, active 1512 - 1542

Giovanni di Luteri, better known as Dosso Dossi, was an Italian Renaissance painter. He was a leading figure in the group of artists known as the School of Ferrara. Dossi created religious and mythological scenes set in lush, idealized landscapes.

Dossi’s patron was Alfonso I d’Este, the Duke of Ferrara between 1505 and 1534. A famed patron of the arts, the duke had also employed well-known painters of the Venetian school, including Giovanni Bellini and Titian.

Dossi’s use of color and soft, ethereal depictions of nature show clear influence from Venetian painters. In paintings such as The Trojans Building the Temple to Venus and Making Offerings at Anchises’s Grave in Sicily, we see Dossi’s vibrant palette. The artist filled his scenes with romance and fantasy. Dossi lived in Ferrara until his death in 1542.