Andrea del Sarto (1486-1530), Italian painter of the High Renaissance, whose reputation rests chiefly on a series of frescoes depicting the life of John the Baptist, in the Cloisters of the Scalzo, Florence.

Andrea was born Andrea d'Agnolo in Florence on July 16, 1486. He studied painting under Piero di Cosimo, and from about 1508 to about 1512 he collaborated with the Florentine painter Francisco di Cristofano Franciabigio. At about the same time, Andrea executed frescoes for the Servites, a religious order, in the Cloisters of the Santissima Annunziata in Florence. By 1510 he had completed five scenes depicting events in the life of San Filippo Benizzi, a 13th-century leader of the Servite order. These works helped establish Andrea's reputation as an excellent draughtsman, a master colourist, and adept in the use of light and shade. Many commissions followed, including the grisailles (frescoes painted in shades of grey) of St John the Baptist in the Cloisters of the Scalzo.

In 1518 Andrea was summoned to the court of Francis I of France, who entrusted him with money to purchase works of art in Italy. He returned to Florence in 1519 and remained there, using the money for his own purposes. In Florence, Andrea continued his work on the fresco series in the Cloisters of the Scalzo, which he completed in 1526. In 1525 he painted a lunette, the Madonna del Sacco, for the Cloister of Santissima Annunziata. This is generally considered his greatest achievement. His last major work is the fresco, The Last Supper (1527), in the refectory of the convent of San Salvi near Florence. He died on September 29, 1530.

Andrea also produced numerous oil paintings, including portraits, such as those of his wife and of himself (Pitti Palace, Florence); and religious subjects, such as the Madonna of the Harpies (1517, Uffizi, Florence). Among his other noted works are the Pietà (1524, Pitti Palace) and The Assumption (1530, Pitti Palace). Another of his paintings, Virgin and Child, also known as the Botti Madonna (1528-1530, Courtauld Institute, London), was rediscovered and authenticated in 2001. Del Sarto’s pupils included the architect and painter Giorgio Vasari and the painters Jacopo da Pontormo and Rosso Fiorentino. See Renaissance Art and Architecture.