Giorgio Vasari was an Italian painter, architect, and biographer known for his three-volume work on Italian artists, Le Vite. He studied art in Venice and Rome, had patrons among the Medici family, and built a house in Arezzo. Although not always accurate, his work is still a valuable reference today. Vasari died in 1574.
Giorgio Vasari was a 16th-century Italian painter, architect, and biographer. He is best known for his extensive three-volume work on the lives of Italian artists, called Le Vite delle più Excellent Painters, Sculptors and Architects (Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors and Architects), which includes biographical information and anecdotes on more than 16 of the his fellow artists. The Lives is still considered a valuable reference resource today, although it is not entirely accurate and is better integrated with more modern research.
Giorgio Vasari was born on July 30, 1511 in Arezzo, Tuscany, and in his youth was a pupil of the stained glass painter Guglielmo da Marseille. Vasari studied art in Venice and Rome from the age of 16, meeting Michelangelo and studying the works of Raphael and his contemporaries. Although not well remembered today for his artistic contributions, Vasari was much admired and successful during his lifetime.
A member of the Mannerist school, Vasari had patrons among the Medici family and worked in many major Italian cities, including Florence, Rome, Naples and his hometown of Arezzo. Some of his works are still visible throughout Italy. Vasari built himself a house in Arezzo in 1547 and decorated it with paintings. Today it is open to the public as a museum in honor of the artist.
Vasari first published Le Vite in 1550, followed by an enlarged edition with illustrative woodcuts in 1568. He is considered the first Italian art historian and coined the term Renaissance. Although The Lives is very different in many ways from similar works written since, Vasari’s encyclopedic format has often been imitated.
The Lives is heavily biased towards Florentine artists and full of apocryphal stories, and the accuracy of the dates in the original left much to be desired. However, it was the first work of its kind by him and offers a valuable glimpse into the artistic realm of Vasari’s era. Giorgio Vasari died in Florence on June 27, 1574. The Lives has been translated into English, French and German.
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