Sarto, Andrea del [key], 1486–1531, Florentine painter of the High Renaissance. He painted chiefly religious subjects. In 1509 he was commissioned by the Servites to decorate their Cloisters of the Annunziata in Florence. His five frescoes there, illustrating the life of St. Philip, won him the title “the faultless painter.” Also in this court are Nativity of the Virgin, Procession of the Magi, and a lunette, Madonna del Sacco. His notable scenes from the life of St. John the Baptist in monotone are in the Cloisters of the Scalzo, Florence, and the Last Supper is in the refectory of the Convent of San Salvi. His oils include two Annunciations, Deposition from the Cross, two Assumptions, Madonna in Glory (Pitti Palace, Florence); Madonna of the Harpies (Uffizi); Holy Family and Charity (Louvre); Holy Family (Metropolitan Mus.); Madonna and Child with St. John (National Gall. of Art, Washington, D.C.); and others in London and Madrid. His paintings consistently exemplify the High Renaissance ideal. Because of the extreme subtlety of his technique, his works tend not to reproduce well in photographs. Toward the end of his career, his representations tended toward mannerism. He was the teacher of the great mannerist Pontormo.
See studies by S. J. Freedberg (2 vol., 1963) and J. Shearman (2 vol., 1965).
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