DOSSO DOSSI, diis'set dAs'se, GtovAx NI DI rt'01.6 Lt 0%1475.15421. A celebrated Italian portrait and historical painter of the Ferrarcse ?chool. born in Ferrara. He and his brother IlArri STA ( ?-15411) were probably both pupils of Lorenzo Costa—Giovanni, at any rate, was. The brothers painted together. Giovanni doing the figures and Battista the inferior of the two—the backgrounds and accessories. Dosso is presumed to have visited Rome in his youth. and it is certain that both I if them lived for some time in Venice, for they -how the influence of the Venetian colorists. About 1512 Dosso was working for the Gonzaga at Modena, and still later he went to Trent with Battista lint, aside from these facts, little is known of the life of either. The poet Ariosto mentions them in Orbindo the highest praise. Dosso's works have often been disputed. It now seems certain that of those hitherto attributed to Garofalo, Giorgione• and others ate his. Ile does not seem to have left any drawings. As a colorist lie ranks first among the Ferrarese painters. and his portraits may often be compared with Titian's. Ills subje•ct pictures are also of great interest, for Dosso, along with a rich and glowing color, had a whimsical originality. The artificially pastoral
spirit. of which the Italy of his day was full, appealed strongly to him. and the fantastic chiv alry of the poetry of his friend Ariosto touched his imagination. One of his best pictures is "Titre in the. in the Borghese Gallery, a work full t f romance and mystery. Other not able pictures by hint are: "'Madonna with Saint \Behind vial Saint George." in the 'Modena Gal lery: Crowned by Angels" and "Saint John uu Patmos," in the Ferrara Gallery: "Saint Sebastian," in the Brent at Milan: decorative paintings in the Ferrara Palace. consisting tf four Di\ isions of the Day" and three "Bacchanals": and it number of works in the Dresden Gallery, which has more of the Dossi picture: than any other European museum out side of Italy. The landscapes in these pictures are often of great beauty. and :ire generally front the brush of Battista. Consult Morelli, Crifirei/ s of Italian Point( rs, translated by Ftoulkes (vol. ii., London. IS93).