Ercole de' Roberti

Ercole de' Roberti (ārkô'lā dā rōber'tē) [key], 1456?–1496, Italian painter of the Ferrarese school. He probably began his career by assisting Francesco Cossa in the decoration of the Schifanoia Palace, Ferrara. A large altarpiece in the Brera, Milan, is the most certain work by Ercole. Other paintings ascribed to him reveal a style ranging from a nervous sensitivity to a dynamic intensity. Paintings attributed to him are in the Cook Collection, Richmond, Va.; the Museum of Art, Philadelphia ; the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; the National Gallery, London; and at Liverpool, Berlin, and Dresden.