Ercole Sarti was an Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 painter of the Baroque

Baroque

The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...

 period, active in Ferrara

Ferrara

Ferrara is a city and comune in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital city of the Province of Ferrara. It is situated 50 km north-northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream of the Po River, located 5 km north...

.

Also called il muto da Ficarola (the mute of Ficarolo

Ficarolo

Ficarolo is a comune in the Province of Rovigo in the Italian region Veneto, located about 90 km southwest of Venice and about 30 km southwest of Rovigo...

), due to his defect (likely congenital deaf-mutism) and hometown of Ficarolo, near Rovigo. He initially trained as a pupil of Carlo Bononi

Carlo Bononi

Carlo Bononi was an Italian painter.Born and active mainly in Emilia and Ferrara, and considered to be mainly a painter of the School of Ferrara. He studied painting under Giuseppe Mazzuoli, known as il Bastarolo. Knew Guercino and was eulogized by Guido Reni as having a "bounty of a most honest...

. He also painted in Felonica

Felonica

Felonica is a comune in the Province of Mantua in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 180 km southeast of Milan and about 50 km southeast of Mantua. , it had a population of 1,586 and an area of 22.5 km².Global data: Province: Mantova. Distance from the chief town : 60...

(Quatrelle) and Salara

Salara

Salara is a comune in the Province of Rovigo in the Italian region Veneto, located about 90 km southwest of Venice and about 30 km southwest of Rovigo. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 1,221 and an area of 14.3 km².The municipality of Salara contains the frazione ...

. In Ficarolo's parish church of St. Valentine, he painted a Crucifixion with donor and Saints Valentine and Carlo Borromeo".