Allegory of April (detail)

Francesco del Cossa (c. 1436 – 1477) was a pivotal Italian Renaissance painter associated with the Ferrarese school. He was the son of a stonemason, Cristofano del Cossa, who also worked as an artist. Little is definitively known about Francesco’s early artistic training, but it's believed he assisted his father in painting decorations for the chapel of the Bishop's Palace in Ferrara around 1456.