Fontainebleu, del Sartro was invited by
Francis I to reside there permanently as
court painter. He left in 1518 but soon
was feeling homesick and missing his wife
Lucrezia. In the next year he returned to
Florence, where he remained for the rest
of his life. Although Francis had lent del
Sartro money in order to purchase works
of art, del Sartro instead used it to build a
house. He completed a series of mono-
chromatic (single-color) frescoes for the
cloister of the Scalzo in Florence. His ma-
jor works from this period areDance of
the Daughter of Herodias, Beheading of the
Baptist, Apparition of the Angel to Zachar-
ias, andVisitation.HisMadonna del Sacco,
or “Madonna of the Sacks,” was painted
for the cloister of Santissima Annunziata
and is considered by many art historians
his best work.
One of del Sartro’s most famous works
isacopyofaportraitofPopeLeoX,done
by Raphael. The painting was much ad-
mired by Duke Federigo Gonzaga of Mi-
lan, who requested it from the Florentine
aristocrat Ottaviano de’ Medici. As Medici
did not want to give up the painting, he
asked del Sartro to make the copy, which
he then sent to Gonzaga as the original.
The painting was so well done that it
fooled art experts for many years after-
ward. Del Sartro was also an excellent por-
traitist. In 1527 he painted aLast Supper
in the refectory (dining hall) of the San
Salvi convent. This was his last major work
before del Sartro contracted the plague
during a siege of Florence in 1529; his wife
Lucrezia, terrified of the illness, fled the
house. Del Sartro died two years later.
d’Este, House of ...............................
An aristocratic family that ruled the cities
of Ferrara and Modena and who were
leading patrons of Renaissance writers,
musicians, and artists in Italy. The family
came from the northern region of Lom-
bardy and originally were lords of Este, a
domain near Padua. In the Middle Ages
the Este dynasty supported the popes and
the Guelph faction in the struggles be-
tween the papacy and the Holy Roman
emperors. Azzo VI d’Este reigned as the
podesta, or magistrate, of Mantua and Ve-
rona; his son Azzo VII succeeded to that
title in Ferrara. In 1264, Obizzo d’Este be-
came the lord of Ferrara. The Este family
held Ferrara as a fief granted by the pope,
and served as the pope’s vicars
(representatives) from 1332.
Ferrara became a flourishing cultural
center under Niccolo d’Este, who ruled
from 1384 until his death in 1441. The
court of the d’Este patronized artists, mu-
sicians, and writers. Niccolo’s son Borso
increased the family’s lands and power
through winning the title of duke of
Modena and Reggio d’Emilia from Freder-
ick III, the Holy Roman Emperor, and
duke of Ferrara from Pope Paul II. Ercole
d’Este, another son, married his daughter
Beatrice to Ludovico Sforza, the duke of
Milan; his daughter Isabella married
Francesco Gonzaga, the marquis of Man-
tua, and through her lavish patronage of
the leading artists and writers of the day,
including Leonardo da Vinci, Titian, and
Ludovico Ariosto, won the title of “Queen
of the Renaissance.”
Alfonso d’Este, who ruled the d’Este
domain until his death in 1534, took an
active part in the wars and diplomacy of
northern Italy. He joined with Milan, the
kingdom of France, and the pope in the
League of Cambrai against Venice. The
pope and Alfonso fell out of favor, how-
ever, and in 1510 the duke was excommu-
nicated from the church and forfeited his
titles in Modena and Reggio. In 1526 Al-d’Este, House of