Triptych

Cosimo Tura's Triptych represents the Ferrarese master's contribution to the devotional altarpiece in the distinctive style that made Ferrara one of Italy's most original artistic centers in the second half of the fifteenth century. Tura, the founding father of the Ferrara school, developed a highly individualistic figure style combining the monumental architecture of Mantegna with harsh metallic drapery and an intense psychological expressivity unlike anything elsewhere in Italian art. His triptych format, with its central devotional image and flanking saints, demonstrates how this very personal style could be contained within the traditional altarpiece structure.

Tura's unique technique creates an effect of surfaces that seem carved from precious metal or gemstone, with sharp, crystalline forms, intense saturated colors, and an almost obsessive attention to textural detail.