Basic Determinants in the Art of Andrea Del Sarto: A Reinterpretation

Andrea del Sarto was one of the leading painters of the Italian Renaissance. Though he is not conceded to be equal to Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael or Michelangelo, he was the ranking painter of Florence during the first decades of the sixteenth century, after Florence had yielded preÉminence in art to Rome and Venice. Modern criticism has dealt with his works and acknowledged some defects along with recognized merits. This recognition has been a belated one. Throughout the centuries, up to our own day, praise of Andrea del Sarto has been mingled with blame. Even though he was accepted as a “faultless” painter, his reputation suffered an early reverse through half-hearted praise on the part of Vasari, a contemporary, who in the sixteenth century wrote a monumental biography of Italian artists. His “Lives” has ever since been a fundamental source for our knowledge of the artists he includes. Modern art criticism, on the other hand, discovered that Vasari's biographies contained many inconsistencies, faults and misstatements, in spite of the author's best intentions. Following Vasari's low opinion of the artist, Robert Browning, the English poet, wrote a poem, “Andrea del Sarto”, dealing with the painter's lack of high ambition. The idea that there was some fundamental flaw in Andrea's character was popularized by Browning's poem. Ernest Jones (1) makes this version the basis for his analysis of the artist, which is here abstracted, discussed, and supplemented by a reinterpretation, based on the artist's works, and guided by a contemporary estimate of what is significant in the painter's style.

From the time Vasari wrote his “Lives” to Browning's well-known poem, “Andrea del Sarto”, this artist, called the “faultless painter”, has been represented as technically able, but lacking soul and inspiration, and failing to achieve great art. Without deep emotion his works seem