La Charité

1523–1524

The plague: flight to the Mugello valley

The plague epidemic of 1523–1524 forces Andrea and his wife to flee Florence and take refuge in the countryside of the Mugello valley. There in 1524 he paints for the convent of St Peter an “Entombment” (now in the Pitti Gallery): the composition seems borrowed from Fra Bartolomeo and the poses are theatrical, but the soft shadows, highlights and saturated colours are an achievement.

1524

Michelangelo brings the young Vasari to him

Michelangelo, who is said to have thought very highly of Andrea’s talents, introduces the thirteen-year-old Giorgio Vasari to Andrea’s studio in 1524; Vasari later becomes his pupil. In his “Lives” Vasari is highly critical of his teacher, alleging that although Andrea had all the prerequisites of a great artist he lacked ambition and the divine fire of inspiration that animated Leonardo, Michelangelo and Raphael.

1527

The expulsion of the Medici and the “Sacrifice of Isaac”

After the Medici family is expelled from Florence once again in 1527, Andrea goes on working on commissions from the Signoria; at that time he paints the “Sacrifice of Isaac”, intended as a gift to the French king François I.

late September 1530

Plague and death: Vasari’s account of Lucrezia

At the end of September 1530, aged 44, Andrea dies in Florence during an outbreak of bubonic plague that followed the siege; the Misericordia buries him unceremoniously in the church of the Servites. Vasari claims that his wife paid him no attention at all during his terminal illness, but since it was well known that plague was highly contagious, it has been speculated that Lucrezia was simply afraid of contagion. She survived her husband by 40 years.

29 September 1530

Died

1530 · Burial

Santissima Annunziata