If the humanist Mario Equicola delivered the iconographic programme for the paintings of the Camerino d'Alabastro of Alfonso I in Ferrara, it seems important to study his ideas in his Instituzioni and Delia natura d'amore. The whole fresco and one major painting in the Camerino was painted by Dosso Dossi, inspired by the academic philosophy of Equicola. The influence of Equicola is evident in the selection of the narrative subjects, as well as in some formal, artistic choices.