Born around 1480 to a family of Ferrara craftsmen dedicated to making knives and masks, his oldest panel is dated 1502 and represents the Death of the Virgin with gaunt figures and the suggestion of gazing, today in the Bologna National Art Gallery. 

After a period of accentuated mannerism, his art lost all traces of naivety to adopt a more stereotypical pious form. 

With maturity, his figures acquired greater solidity and the colours became more intense. Coltellini, in his final years, attempted to align with the style of sixteenth-century Ferrarese art with Nordic-inspired themes. The portraits of his patrons demonstrated a greater adherence to reality. 

The dates of his birth and death are uncertain.