Andrea del Sarto and the French Court: Leonardo, Raphael and Visual Legacy

Before France Andrea del Sarto’s journey to France in 1518 has acquired a special place in accounts of his career. John Shearman treated that year as the beginning of Andrea’s ‘heroic period’, while Jan Sammer’s recent reconstruction of the painter’s movements has given the French episode a much firmer documentary basis than it previously possessed.Continue reading “Andrea del Sarto and the French Court: Leonardo, Raphael and Visual Legacy”

Leonardo and Isabella d’Este: The Life of a Drawing

Isabella d’Este and Leonardo Isabella d’Este was born in Ferrara in 1474, the daughter of Ercole I d’Este and Eleonora d’Aragona, and in 1490 married Francesco II Gonzaga, marquis of Mantua. Her position at the Mantuan court involved political as well as dynastic responsibilities, while her collecting and patronage brought her into sustained contact withContinue reading “Leonardo and Isabella d’Este: The Life of a Drawing”