Andrea del Sarto, (* July 16, 1486 in Gualfonda, Florence – September 29, 1530 in Florence) was a painter of the Italian Renaissance. He was apprenticed to a goldworker, but his skill in drawing attracted the attention of a painter who taught him and then to Piero di Cosimo accommodated. Later, del Sarto worked with Franciabigio for a time; However, he trained himself preferably after Leonardo, Michelangelo and Fra Bartolommeo, whose styles he skillfully merged into his own mode of expression with a strong emphasis on color without neglecting plastic form. His role models in graphic expression were Domenico Ghirlandajo and Masaccio.
In 1506 he formed a joint workshop with his friend Franciabigio, a former student of Albertinelli. From 1509 to 1514 he painted frescoes from the life of Philippus Benizzi, the Adoration of the Magi and the Nativity (major work) in the courtyard and cloister of the Servite Church of the Santissima Annunziata in Florence. Around 1511, del Sarto painted a fresco of the Baptism of Christ in gray on gray for the Brotherhood dello Scalzo.
In the years 1518/19 he was active in the entourage of Leonardo da Vinci at the court of Francis I at Fontainebleau Castle in France, but soon returned to Florence to develop his own style, which was influenced by the above artists. to realize. His style of painting significantly shaped the art of the first third of the 16th century in Italy.
From 1515 to 1526 he continued the cycle from the life of John the Baptist. These works are characterized by fresh naturalness, striving for diverse characteristics, skilful order and grouping, harmonious coloring and graceful depiction, combined with a virtuoso applied drawing.
Andrea del Sarto had many pupils and followers, the best known being Jacobo da Pontormo and Franciabigio. However, as Vasari writes, they later left him to join Michelangelo and go to Rome. According to his Vita, Andrea del Sarto ended his life in his wife’s arms, with little attention from those around him and largely poor, although he had many admirers during his lifetime.
