Andrea del Castagno

Andrea del Castagno (c. 1421-1457), originally named Andrea di Bartolo di Bargilla, Florentine painter of the early Renaissance. He was born in Castagno, near Florence, Italy, and except for a brief period in Venice in about 1442, worked in Florence. There he chiefly painted frescoes for the Church and for the Medici and other wealthy families. Particularly outstanding are The Last Supper and a series on the Passion of Christ painted for the convent of Sant'Apollonia (both c. 1445-1450, Sant'Apollonia, now the Castagno Museum). The influence of the Florentine painter Masaccio is seen in Andrea's broad, solid figures and the emotional intensity conveyed both by posture and facial expression. Andrea's architectural backgrounds, including columns, stairs, and windows, display his skill in the then-new science of perspective.

The graceful sculpture of the Florentine artist Donatello increasingly influenced Andrea's later work. Notable late pieces include Famous Men and Women, a series of nine works for the Villa Carducci at Legnaia (c. 1450, Castagno Museum) and a fresco depicting the military leader, Niccolò da Tolentino, on horseback (1456, Florence Cathedral). See Renaissance Art and Architecture.