Andrea del Sarto (Italian, 1486 – 1531)
Cenacolo di Andrea del Sarto, Florence.
In the old refectory of the San Salvi monastery on the outskirts of Florence, Andrea del Sarto painted the life-like Last Supper. Initially, the artist painted the sub-arch, which took 18 days. Work was suspended for about fifteen years, and then he was called back to fresco the Last Supper properly and completed it in 46 days. During the siege of Florence it was one of the very few surviving works outside the walls of Florence, the only one of importance, and it seems that the imperial soldiers were so enchanted by its surprising modernity that they spared it. In 1534 the monastery became a female monastery and then a strict enclosure was introduced, which made the work de facto invisible until the monastery was suppressed.
At this Last Supper, the apostles are seated, shocked by the announcement of the betrayal just uttered by Jesus. Judas, as Leonardo already did in his Last Supper, is not separated from the table on this side as in so many other Last Suppers, but is at the right hand of Jesus, faithful to the Gospel text of John with his hand on his chest to demonstrate his disbelief, as he receives a piece of soaked bread from Jesus. Jesus had just told the group that one of them will betray him, the one he will rech out to with a piece of bread.
Andrea del Sarto (1486 – 1530) was an Italian painter from Florence, whose career flourished during the High Renaissance and early Mannerism. Although highly regarded during his lifetime as an artist senza errori or without errors, his renown was eclipsed after his death by that of his contemporaries Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Raphael.
- The Museo del Cenacolo di Andrea del Sarto, Florence is open in the mornings, free entrance. It’s a 30 minutes walk from the centre of Florence, off the beaten track, hardly any visitors; free entrance.
- For directions, click here.