Cossa, Francesco (1435–1477)

Italian painter. He worked at the court of Ferrara and also in Bologna, where he painted altarpieces. He was largely responsible for a series of frescoes of The Months at the Schifanoia Palace, Ferrara (completed in 1470).

Cossa was born in Ferrara and was probably the pupil of Cosimo Tura; he was also influenced by Andrea Mantegna and Piero della Francesca. In the early 1470s he left Ferrara for Bologna, where he produced a number of church paintings, including his altarpiece The Madonna Enthroned. He was the master of Lorenzo Costa.