Portrait of a Sculptor

After Andrea Del Sarto 1486 - 1530, who was an Italian Renaissance painter and draughtsman. Del Sarto worked in Fresco decorating, portrait painting and as a painter of alter pieces, his career was overshadowed by the following masters of the time, Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo Buonarotti, Raphael and Fra Bartolommeo. Del Sarto was a well known, accomplished and talented artist who achieved universal fame after his death, it was suggested that his lack of ambition and the inspiration of imagination held him back during the most influential period in Renaissance art. However his life has been well documented and Vasari was responsible for a great deal of Del Sarto's biography despite his own personal criticism of his teacher and also being aware of his great talents as a painter.

This picture was painted around the middle of the 19th Century and the original is in the National Gallery London and is thought to have been painted in 1517 - 1518 and furthermore it has been described as possibly a self portrait, which seems to me to be something of a dilemma as the description is generally known as a portrait of a sculptor, Andrea Del Sarto was a painter of some fame and repute. Del Sarto's biography is very well documented and it would be a great dis-service to the memory of such a great painter to attempt to write his biography here and consequently it is advisable to seek greater explanations of his works from the on-line sources. 

This portrait is indistinctly signed on the lower left of the canvas and clues to the identity of the painter of this work are still ongoing, I have included a few before restoration images, however there are a few contenders for the nomination of the artist responsible, Oswald Brierly an English seascape painter but much travelled, Andreas Achenbach and Oswald Achenbach also both very competent and much travelled painters. There are also other clues which revolve around the stretcher and frame, however this is an extremely well painted portrait and clearly an experienced and quite brilliant hand, it is one of the best copies of Andrea Del Sarto's work and is certainly worthy of an appreciative new owner.