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Andrea Del Sarto
“The painter without error” (Senza
errori)
Research essay by Brian Batista
It was a real treat to discover a new artist during St. Mary’s travel
study course. Andrea Del Sarto’s fresco The Last Supper in San Salvi, Florence,
was breathtaking and inspired me to delve deeper and learn more about this
artist. What was it about Del Sarto that peaked my interest? Why did his work
jump out at me amongst the innumerable master works we saw in Italy? It wasn’t
until I began my research, that I discovered in his work, lessons that surface
for some of the challenges I’ve been facing in my artistic practice.
Personal
Life
Andrea Del Sarto, was born in Florence on July 16, 1486. His father
Agnolo was a tailor (sarto) so he became known by the epithet “Del Sarto” the
“tailors son”. Del Sarto began training as a goldsmiths apprentice but his
drawing skills were quickly recognized by an unknown artist, who instructed him
in painting. He was then sent to apprentice under Piero Di Cosimo and later Raffaellino
del Garbo. Andrea
Del Sarto's rose quickly in the ranks of Florentine painters and was in high
demand while still a young painter earning him the nickname Senza Errori “the painter without
error”. His
reputation was so great that the King of France invited him to court.
We know about Del Sarto from the 16th century writings of
Giorgio Vasari. His writings are considered the ideological foundation for
art-historical writing making it an excellent resource to reference. Little of note is known about Del Sarto’s personal
life. It was considered uninteresting and uneventful as he spent most of his
life working in Florence. For a
time, Del Sarto’s hometown of Florence was under siege by papal forces, subject
to invasion and political intrigue. After the expulsion of the Medici, once
again, in 1527, he worked for the republican government of Florence. Work was
found for artists but of a dubious and unpleasant nature. Del Sarto was
commissioned to paint effigies of traitors, but he dared not refuse, nor did he
want to scar his reputation so he did them in secret until their unveiling. His
Sacrifice of Isaac, intended as a political present
to Francis I, was
painted in this period.
Del
Sarto was born at the beginning of the development of the modern world, the
world was in transition and times were tumultuous and restless. The influence
and power of the church diminished as feudal systems crumbled and towns
expanded. The rise of the merchant class
accompanied religious reform and the invention of the printing press. People were becoming fascinated with art,
science, politics and travel to far off lands.
The Medici families where influential and gave him his most significant
contract of his career—for part of the decoration of the Villa
Medici at Poggio a Caiano, near Florence. The patron was in fact the pope, Leo X, whom Sarto almost certainly visited
in Rome in 1519–20; but the project, the only one that ever offered Florentine
artists the scope that Raphael had in
the Vatican Palace, collapsed when the pope died in December 1521. Sarto’s
fresco Tribute to Caesar is a fragment now
incorporated into a much later decorational scheme.
Del Sarto married
Lucrezia (del Fede), widow of a hatter named Carlo, of Recanati, on 26 December 1512. He thought she was so beautiful, he
would dress her in the mornings, she was his muse. Lucrezia appears in many of
his paintings, as a Madonna. However, Vasari describes her as "faithless,
jealous, and vixenish with the apprentices." She is similarly
characterized in Robert Browning's poem titled Andrea Del Sarto published in 1855.
Browning’s
poem implies that Del Sarto is not as famous as many other artists because he
“shies away from the vivid and necessarily sexual fullness of life, and the
spirituality that is a part of that fullness.” Literary Scholar, Stephen Hawlin
further explains that “Del Sarto’s wife's beauty is without a soul to Del
Sarto, it’s only a beauty on the outside, which perfectly matches the state of
Del Sarto's art, which is beautiful, but spiritually empty.” Browning’s Andrea Del Sarto explores broad themes
such as if all human interactions are governed by aesthetic or exchange value,
failure, whether one's wife is a possession, and morality in general. Browning
chose to use renaissance painters as his subjects because art was much easier
to access than writing was, writing was only accessible to those of wealth.
A
few other things of note are known about Del Sarto. He was notably short in
stature and known to his friends as Andreino. In 1506 Andrea del Sarto set up a
joint workshop with his older friend Franciabigio. They painted many notable
frescos from 1508 – 1514. Del Sarto was
active in the generation which followed Leonardo, Botticelli, Perugino and Pinturicchio
and worked at the same time as Raphael. He was the instructor to Fiorentino and
Pontomoro who carried on many aspects of his style.
Andrea Del Sarto died in
Florence at age 43 during an outbreak of Bubonic Plague in either 1530 or 1531. He was buried unceremoniously in
the church of the Servites. Amy Steedman, describes his
last few days thusly "Perhaps Andrea had suffered for want of good food
during the siege, perhaps he was overworked and tired; but, whatever was the
cause, he was one of the first to be seized by that terrible disease. Alone he
fought the enemy, and alone he died. Lucrezia had left him as soon as he fell
ill, for she feared the deadly plague, and Andrea gladly let her go, for he
loved her to the last with the same great unselfish love. So passed away the
faultless painter, and his was the last great name engraved upon that golden
record of Florentine Art which had made Florence famous in the eyes of the
world. Other artists came after him, but Art was on the wane in the City of
Flowers, and her glory was slowly departing." After his death his renown was eclipsed by that of his
contemporaries, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo,
and Raphael.
Del Sarto’s
Style
Andrea Del Sarto was instrumental in the development of the Florentine
mannerist style, which dominated the majority of the 1500’s until it was
replaced with the onset of the Baroque period. Del Sarto worked mainly in oil
but completed fresco cycles in the cloisters of the Scalazi and SS Annunziata
in Florence. His work shows strong
Mannerist tendencies in its agitated composition, formless and indeterminate
space, and in the tortured poses and exaggerated musculature of it’s bunches of
nude figures. The characteristics of mannerism are characterized by artiness and
artificiality through self-conscious cultivation of technical ability and
elegance. The figures are posed in seemingly contrived positions with elongated
stretched limbs, small heads and stylized facial feature, giving them an
overall appearance of gracefulness.
Mannerism is notable for
its intellectual sophistication, favoring compositional tension and instability
rather than the balance and clarity of earlier Renaissance painting. The
deep, linear perspectival space of High Renaissance becomes
flattened and obscured so that the figures appear as a decorative arrangement
of forms in front of a flat background of indeterminate dimensions. Mannerists
sought a continuous refinement of form and concept, pushing exaggeration and
contrast to great limits. The results included strange and constricting spatial
relationships, jarring juxtapositions of intense and unnatural colours, an
emphasis on abnormalities of scale, a sometimes totally irrational mix of
classical motifs and other visual references to the antique, and inventive and
grotesque pictorial fantasies.
Sarto combined Venetian colours with Florentine disegno, producing mainly religious pieces. Disegno is “drawing” or “design” is the foundation for any artistic
endeavor and tries to approximate nature. For the Florentines artists, the act of
drawing was not only the art of using line to define form: it was the artistic
underpinning of a work whereby an artist could express his inner vision.
As noted earlier, from a young age Del Sarto’s was an accomplished
draughtsman, his drawings are highly respected, especially his numerous works
in chalk and red chalk. His drawings are refreshingly natural,
marked by skillful arrangements and groupings of figures, harmonious coloration
and a graceful composition in combination with clever drawing.
Del Sarto’s used Venetian colour which is softer and less vivid than
Florentine color. Venetian
color application suggests form without sharp edges, creating a difficult to
achieve sense of depth and realism. Focusing
more on the process of layering and blending colors to
achieve a glowing richness while remaining naturalistic.
Best Known
Works
Del Sarto is best known for his painting of the Last Supper and the Madonna
of the Harpies. The first work of Del Sarto’s that spurred my interest was the
Last Supper at San Salvi. He worked on this fresco of this ancient Vallombrosan
monastery from 1511 until 1527.
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The scene takes place in a very plain setting. As noted, with the mannerist
style the setting tends to be plain and subdued while the grouping of figures
is dynamic and draws the eye around the picture plane. Clearly Del Sarto was knowledgeable of Leonanrdo’s
fresco of the Last supper when he painted his rendition. The
impact and movement of Leonardo's figural composition have been moderated by
Del Sarto. Del Sarto chose to depict the moment Christ reveals that someone will
betray him, “the one who will betray me for a piece of dipped bread”, he
depicts in the center of the fresco Jesus passing a piece of bread to Judas who
is seated next to him rather than at the other end of the table as is the usual
convention.
The Personages’ painted in the fresco appear to be portraits rather
than idealized inventions. The apostles are represented without halos and they
are depicted emotionally astonished and upset. All of these elements come
together to make Andrea's
narrative more human and touching; it reduces the heroic drama of gestures and
figures. It shows a nearly enclosed hall, in whose articulations the row of
apostles is embedded. The community at table with Christ is given a formal
pendant in the form of a window loggia. A charming, anecdotal subsidiary motif
results: two servants are conversing in the central opening. Above the entire
scene is a large arch painted with medallions displaying the Trinity and the
saint protectors of the Vallombrosan Order.
At
the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, there are a number of self-portraits by Del
Sarto and his Madonna and the Harpies.
Originally completed in 1517 for the convent of San Francesco dei Macci, the altarpiece now resides in the
Uffizi. The reason this piece was called Madonna of the Harpies is the figures
on the carved pedestal below. In this piece Del Sarto depicts the
Virgin Mary and child on a pedestal flanked by angels and two saints, Saint Bonaventure or
Francis and John the Evangelist on the right. I am drawn into Del Sarto’s work through
his rendering of clothing. I think his drapery and cloth work is stunning. St.
Francis on the left has clothing which serves as a great example of Del Sarto’s
clothwork. It is crisp and almost metallic, while remaining soft and deep and
dimensional. This work is pyramidal
shaped in composition with deep shadows resonating from behind the figures
allowing them to appear to pop out of the picture plane.
In my own art practice, I have always had a real challenge in creating
depth and illusionistic space, this can be attributed to skillful use of values.
Which brings me Del Sarto’s most ambitious monument, the studio frescos he
created around
1511 for the brotherhood in the Chiostro dello Scalzo. Here Andrea del Sarto painted frescos on the
subject of the life of John the Baptist and the Baptism of Christ a gray on
gray monochrome (grisaille).The cloister garden paintings have been outside for
500 years and have survived in fantastic condition. Here one can learn a lot
from his use of values. Young artists
use to visit these frescos and make studies of how the masters utilize chiaroscuro.
Below
we can see how Del Sarto depicts the virtues, Faith, Hope and charity figures
are drenched in light over a medium valued backdrop. The shadows are deep and
dark below. Showing skillful use of value to differentiate the background and
foreground elements. He skillfully represents 3 dimensions on a 2 dimensional
surface just with his use of lights and darks.
Some characters have less deep values to give them less emphasis in the
overall compositions while important central figures like the Christ appear
more predominant because of a greater range of values. This draws your eyes to the most important
elements. Deep shadows and bright highlights help draw your eye through his
dynamic compositions.
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Del
Sarto’s work really popped out for me. I think in part I am inspired by it in
order that I can learn from the things I most admire in his work and study them
so that I may apply them to my own. In
looking at these works for their skillful use of dark and lights or
chiaroscuro, and having great examples in his grisaille frescos one can see why
he is a hugely influential high renaissance painter. I not only value his work
but how he masterfully applies his values.
Bibliography:
Aston,
Margaret ed. The Panorama of the Renaissance. Thames and Hudson, 1996.
Fantechi,
Chiara Migliorini. Florence Guide to the City. Florence, Italy:
Editrice Giusti de Becocci S.r.l., 2005
Shearman, John K.G ed. Andrea Del Sarto Italian Painter. Encyclopedia Britannica, 2014.
Sorabella, Jean. Venetian Color and Florentine Design. In
Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History.
New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–.
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/vefl/hd_vefl.htm (October 2002)
Vasari, Giorgio. The Lives of the
Artists. Translated by George Bull. Baltimore: Penguin, 1965. A widely
available English translation of the sixteenth-century Italian original.
Additional
Online Resources:
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