Biographies

Andrea del Sarto (1486 – 1530) He was born Andrea d’Agnolo in Florence, where he studied with Piero di Cosimo. His frescoes at the Church of the Santissima Annunziata established his reputation and he went on to a career as a respected painter, working mostly in his native city. Robert Browning made him the speaker of a famous dramatic monologue, presenting him as a “faultless painter” who lacked genius and energy, and was betrayed by his wife. This was not really fair to an extremely good painter, whose work undoubtedly gave Browning the clues for his characterization.