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| (1496-1530) Florentine painter who dominated the Florentine scene in
the second quarter of the sixteenth century, after Raphael's
death and Michelangelo’s
departure for Rome. In his portraits and devotional works , he consolidated the styles of the preceding generation, including
Michelangelo, Raphael, Piero di Cosimo and fra' Bartolomeo. As his name suggests, Andrea
del Sarto was the son of a tailor. Though trained as a goldsmith, his extraordinary talent
in drawing led to his transfer to the guild of painters in 1508. The location of his
studio, between SS. Annunziata and S. Marco in Florence, drew him into contact with a
group of artists who had just returned from Rome, including the sculptor and architect Jacopo Sansovino.
Andrea del Sarto’s most important public commissions were fresco cycles in the
cloisters of the Scalzi (Life of John the Baptist, from1515) and at SS. Annunziata
(Life Of S. Filippo Benizzi, from 1510; Birth of the Virgin 1514), where he used vivid color to depict monumental figures
within settings defined by imposing architectural elements. These works, alongside the
success of his many portraits and smaller devotional canvases, soon led to involvement
with the courts. He was called to France to become royal painter to Francis I in 1518, and upon his return
after only a year, he shared the commission to decorate the Medici villa at Poggio a Caiano with Pontormo and Franciabigio (1519-20). Vasari records that the artist also contributed to Florentine
ephemeral productions by painting histories on the all’antica triumphal
carriages of the Arte de’Mercatanti for the procession of San Giovanni (prior to
1527), as well as adorning a much-praised temporary facade at Santa Maria del Fiore for Leo X’s entry into Florence (1515) alongside his friend Jacopo
Sansovino. Further festive efforts included the scenic decorations with Bastiano da Sangallo for the production of Machiavelli’s La Mandragola (1525) at a private house by the
Compagnia dei Cazzuola, to which Andrea del Sarto himself belonged.
Alice Jarrard |
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Percorsi Iconografici:
Andrea del Sarto, Autoritratto, Uffizi, Firenze
Andrea del Sarto, Madonna delle Arpie, Galleria degli Uffizi, Firenze
Andrea del Sarto, La nascita della Vergine, SS.Annunziata, Firenze
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