Giovanni

Dosso's birth date has been controversial for centuries. Modern research uncovered documents indicating that he had reached the age of 25 by June 1512, so it may be deduced that he was born some time before June 1487. According to another recently discovered document, at the likely time of Dosso's birth his father was living in the small principality of Mirandola, on the borders of Mantua and Ferrara; the nickname 'Dosso', by which he was always known in his lifetime, refers to the place name of a small family property. Dosso was probably a pupil of Lorenzo Costa, court painter at Mantua, and he may have studied with Giorgione in Venice. He had settled in Ferrara by the summer of 1513, when he received payments, together with his collaborator Garofalo, for a huge polyptych commissioned by the ducal counselor Antonio Costabili. By the following year Dosso had entered the service of Duke Alfonso of Ferrara, for whom he worked all of his life. His art is characterized by its allegorical or mythological content, reflecting the cultural interests of the Ferrarese court. He was influenced by many artists, most notably Giorgione in Venice and Raphael in Rome. Although his style is often described as clumsy, he displayed great originality and experimented with the effects of light, glowing color, and the poetic quality of landscape. He was famous for his sense of humor, and his art may be interpreted in this light, reflecting heroic irony not unlike another person employed at the Ferrarese court, the great poet Lodovico Ariosto (1475-1533). He may have worked with Ariosto for the Este family devising entertainments, triumphs, tapestries, and other ephemeral art.