About Andrea del Sarto:-

Andrea del Sarto (1486–1530) was an Italian painter from Florence, whose career flourished during
the High Renaissance and early Mannerism. Though highly regarded during his lifetime as an
artist senza errori ("without errors"), his renown was eclipsed after his death by that of his
contemporaries, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Raphael. Andrea del Sarto was born Andrea
d'Agnolo di Francesco di Luca di Paolo del Migliore in Florence on 16 July 1486. Since his father,
Agnolo, was a tailor (Italian: sarto), he became known as "del Sarto" (meaning "tailor's son").

His works:-

From 1509 to 1514 the Servite Order employed Del Sarto, Franciabigio and Andrea Feltrini in a
programme of frescoes at Basilica della Santissima Annunziata di Firenze. Sarto completed seven
frescoes in the forecourt or atrium (the chiostro dei voti) before the Servite church, five of which
illustrated the Life and miracles of Filippo Benizzi, a Servite saint who died in 1285 (canonized 1671).
He executed them rapidly, depicting the saint healing a leper through the gift of his undertunic;
predicting the bad end of some blasphemers; and restoring a girl possessed with a devil. The two
final frescoes of the series depicted the healing of a child at the death bed of Filippo Benizzi and the
curing of sick adults and children through his relic garment held at the church. All five frescoes were
completed before the close of 1510. The original contract also required him to paint five scenes of the
life and miracles of St Sebastian, but he told the Servites that he no longer wished to continue with
the second cycle, most likely due to the low remuneration. The Servites convinced him to do two
more frescoes in the forecourt, though of a different subject matter: a Procession of the
Magi (or Adoration, containing a self-portrait) finished in 1511 and a Nativity of the Virgin. These
paintings met with respect, the correctness of the contours being particularly admired, and earned for
Sarto the nickname of "Andrea senza errori" (Andrea the perfect). Towards 1512 he painted
an Annunciation in the monastery of S. Gallo and a Marriage of Saint Catherine (Dresden).

The so-called Portrait of a Sculptor, long believed to have been Del Sarto's self-portrait.
 Del Sarto's most ambitious monument, in terms of the amount of time he devoted to it, is
the grisailleseries in the Chiostro dello Scalzo.
Before the end of 1516, a Pietà of Del Sarto's composition, and afterwards a Madonna, were sent to
the French Court. This led to an invitation from François I, in 1518, and he journeyed to Paris in June
of that year, along with his pupil Andrea Squarzzella, leaving his wife, Lucrezia, in Florence.
According to Giorgio Vasari, Andrea's pupil and biographer, Lucrezia wrote to Andrea and demanded
he return to Italy. The King assented, but only on the understanding that his absence
from France was to be short. He then entrusted Andrea with a sum of money to be expended in
purchasing works of art for the French Court. By Vasari's account, Andrea took the money and used it
to buy himself a house in Florence, thus ruining his reputation and preventing him from ever returning
to France.[7] The story inspired Robert Browning's poem-monologue "Andrea del Sarto Called the
'Faultless Painter'" (1855), but is now believed by some historians to be apocryphal.
Personal Life:-
Andrea married Lucrezia (del Fede), widow of a hatter named Carlo, of Recanati, on 26 December
1512. Lucrezia appears in many of his paintings, often as a Madonna. However, Vasari describes her
as "faithless, jealous, and vixenish with the apprentices." She is similarly characterized in Robert
Browning's poem.
Andrea died in Florence at age 43 during an outbreak of Bubonic Plague at the end of September
1530. He was buried unceremoniously by the Misericordia in the church of the Servites. In Lives of
the Artists, Vasari claimed Andrea received no attention at all from his wife during his terminal illness.
However, it was well-known at the time that plague was highly contagious, so it has been speculated
that Lucrezia was simply afraid to contract the virulent and frequently-fatal disease. If true, this well-
founded caution was rewarded, as she survived her husband by 40 years.

Lucrezia; wife of Andrea del Sarto

 Andrea del Sarto (POEM)

"Andrea del Sarto" (also called "The Faultless Painter") is a poem by Robert Browning (1812–1889)
published in his 1855 poetry collection, Men and Women. It is a dramatic monologue, a form of poetry
for which he is famous, about the Italian painter Andrea del Sarto.
Summary :

This poem represents yet another of Browning’s dramatic monologues spoken in the voice of an
historical Renaissance painter. Andrea del Sarto, like Fra Lippo Lippi, lived and worked in Florence,
albeit a little later than Lippo, and was later appointed court painter by Francis, the King of France.
Under the nagging influence of his wife Lucrezia, to whom he speaks in this poem, he left the French
court for Italy but promised to return; he took with him some money that Francis had given him to
purchase Italian artworks for the court, and also the money advanced to him for his own
commissioned paintings. However, he spent all of the money on a house for himself and his wife in
Italy and never returned to France. This poem finds Andrea in the house he has bought with the
stolen money, as he thinks back on his career and laments that his worldly concerns have kept him
from fulfilling his promise as an artist. As he and Lucrezia sit at their window, he talks to her of his
relative successes and failures: although Michelangelo (here, Michel Agnolo) and Raphael (Rafael)
enjoyed higher inspiration and better patronage—and lacked nagging wives—he is the better
craftsman, and he points out to her the problems with the Great Masters’ work. But while Andrea
succeeds technically where they do not (thus his title “The Faultless Painter”), their work ultimately
triumphs for its emotional and spiritual power. Andrea now finds himself in the twilight of his career
and his marriage: Lucrezia’s “Cousin”—probably her lover—keeps whistling for her to come; she
apparently either owes the man gambling debts or has promised to cover his own. The fond, weary
Andrea gives her some money, promises to sell paintings to pay off her debts, and sends her away to
her “Cousin,” while he remains to sit quietly and dream of painting in Heaven.

Form :

“Andrea del Sarto” unrolls in pentameter blank verse, mostly iambic. It is a quiet poem, the musings
of a defeated man. Both in language and in form it is modest and calm. Yet it also manages to mimic
natural speech quite effectively, with little interjections and asides.

Commentary:

This poem has a most compelling premise—an artist’s comparison of his own work to that of the
Great Masters. Andrea blames his disappointing career on his inability to match his unparalleled
technical skills with appropriate subject matter: all the Virgins he paints look like his wife, and he has
never had the time at court to allow his work to blossom. While Raphael and Michelangelo often err in
their representations (while he speaks Andrea mentally “fixes” a figure’s arm in a scene by Raphael),
the intentions and the spirit behind their work shine through so strongly that their work nonetheless
surpasses his. This seems to contradict what Browning asserts in other poems about the
unconnectedness of art on the one hand and morality or intention on the other. But perhaps we can
explain this seeming contradiction by interpreting the Great Masters’ motivation as not so much any
specific spiritual or moral purpose, but rather an all-consuming passion for their art. As Andrea notes,
Raphael, Michelangelo, and Leonardo did not have wives: they lived for their work. For Andrea,
painting is reduced to a means to make money; he has the avaricious Lucrezia to support. Between
trying to pay her debts, buying her the things she wants, and keeping her attention, Andrea cannot
afford to focus solely on his art. Is the creation of art incompatible with a “normal” life, a life of
mundane duties and obligations?It may be worth considering why Browning chooses to write about
painters rather than poets in his discussions on art and the artist-figure. During the Renaissance era
where Browning sets his verses, poetry would have had a somewhat limited audience: it would have
been enjoyed by those who had both the extra money and time to spend on books, not to mention the
necessary literacy (although much poetry would have been read aloud). Painting, on the other hand,
was—and still is—a more public art form. Whether a painting hangs in a museum or on the wall of a
church, it remains constantly accessible and on display to anyone who passes, regardless of his or
her education. Moreover, particularly since most Renaissance art portrayed religious themes, painting
had a specific didactic purpose and thus an explicit connection to moral and spiritual issues. This
connection between art and morals is precisely what most interests Browning in much of his work—
indeed, it much preoccupied Victorian society in general. Browning and his contemporaries asked,
What can be forgiven morally in the name of aesthetic greatness? Does art have a moral
responsibility? Because Renaissance painting was public and fairly representational, it highlights
many of these issues; poetry is always indirect and symbolic, and usually private, and thus makes a
harder test case than painting. Indeed, Andrea’s paintings in particular, which often depict religious
scenes, get right at the heart of the art-morality question, especially given his works’ imbalance
between technical skill and lofty intentions.

Andrea presents us with a different kind of character than we are used to seeing in Browning’s work.
Unlike the Duke of “My Last Duchess,”Fra Lippo Lippi, or Porphyria’s Lover, Andrea expresses a
resigned, melancholy outlook; his wife keeps him completely under her thumb. He lacks the hubris of
these other characters, and thus to some extent seems to represent Browning’s insecurities. The
reader should keep in mind that Browning did not enjoy public success until the late in his career, and
at the time that Men and Women was published critics considered Browning’s wife, Elizabeth Barrett
Browning, the far greater poet. While by every indication their relationship thrived on mutual respect
and support, it is nevertheless possible that Browning may have felt, as Andrea does, that domestic
life and his wife’s presence weakened his art.Like “My Last Duchess” and “Porphyria’s Lover” this
poem “takes place” (is spoken) after the fact: Andrea has long since left Francis’s court, and the
money he stole has long since disappeared into the house and Lucrezia’s wardrobe. While this
monologue comes across as dramatic in nature, it does not dramatize anyone’s actions. Rather, it
seeks to capture a mood and an attitude. In this way it has more in common with Tennyson’s dramatic
monologues (such as “Ulysses”) than it does with other poems of Browning’s.
Character of Lucrezia in Andrea del Sarto

Rare beauty
Lucrezia is beautiful woman. Even though she is widow, Andrea marries her for beautiful stature. He
compares her face with moon. He says everyone likes the moon. Just like that she is liked by
everyone. Her ears are so beautiful that ornaments also spoil her beauty. The pearl hung to ear also
seems less beautiful. She has beautiful face and lips which are revered by Andrea. She is taken as
model for Andrea's paintings. Thus she is praised by Andrea. She paints Virgin Mary picture taking
her as model. Her smile is so beautiful that it energizes him very much to get inspired and draw
wonderful pictures. That is the reason he is upside down in her love. From youth he loves her nd his
love for her is not at all submitted to alteration.

Unfaithful

Lucrezia is beautiful but she has no inner beauty as seen outside. Andrea del Sarto is a technical
painter. Her out ward design and anatomy is superb but lacks soul in his paintings. It is because the
person who is providing inspiration is like that. She has perfect outward appearance but lacks
beautiful soul. That is the reason Andrea fails. Andrea loses everything for the sake of her. He marries
her at the time she is widow. This is not remembered by her. He leaves his job of painting at France
to be at her. She could not remember this sacrifice. Later, he embezzles money to build a house for
her is also not remembered. Thus she is not faithful at all in any circumstance. He is not in a position
to go out just due to satiate her desires of being rich which has made him embezzle. He should have
been among the Leonardo, Michael Angelo, Rafael; Nagging wife like her could not let him excel in
art anymore. Still she asks for his money to pay off the debts of her lover. When he whistles she
leaves the place even Andrea convinces her to stay with him a single evening to sit beside him. She
says it is waste of time for her.

Careless attitude

Andrea del Sarto paints as quickly as possible if he is inspired. But his problem is that he cannot be
inspired by blames or praises. He is inspired by Lucrezia only. But she does not know about the art
but only knows to ask money. This makes him paint and sell. Then he keeps the money into hands of
her which is a great bliss for him. He wants her to be in smile mode always. It energizes him very
much than any other thing. She smiles when he praises her. But it will not take a moment that she is
smiling just because she wants money. Even, Andrea is ready to buy her smiles. He tries to say that
he is great painter. Once, the paint drawn by Andrea is spoilt by her carelessness. But Andréa says
that he can do it easily again.

Deception
Andrea loves her so much. He provides everything what she wants. But he cannot understand why
she is leaving him even he pours his love on her. What can her lover give, while he cannot provide it?
Even the money to pay off the debts of lover, is being asked to provide by Andrea. She wants to leave
him even he clearly loves her. He always regrets that he has nagging wife rather than loving wife. At
the same time, he propels him to deceive the king. Andrea has deceived the king and shunned the
name and fame, still he is ready to leave heavenly city painting opportunity for the sake of her. At last,
Lucrezia leaves him and at last Andrea dies due to plague.

The deviator

Andrea del Sarto is keen to serve God through his painting. His service will be appreciated from the
kings and popes so that he can gain name and fame. This is the objective of him. In the beginning, he
lacks the support as said by Michael Angelo. But later he is given an opportunity. The opportunity
came through Francis I of France. He enjoyed the presence of king near him and courtiers who
looked at his picture astonishingly. He has thought that he is reaching his goal. He thinks this kind of
service will also elate his wife. But she does not like art for Gods service. Art for money is important
for her. Even though, she does not know anything about painting. Andrea clearly explains her. But all
attempts are futile. But Lucrezia is successful in deviation of the aim of his life. His worship of God
has altered to the way for more money earning.