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Beginning with Cimabue and Giotto in the thirteenth century, Vasari traces the development of Italian art across three centuries to the golden epoch of Leonardo and Michelangelo. Great men, and their immortal works, are brought vividly to life, as Vasari depicts the young Giotto scratching his first drawings on stone; Donatello gazing at Brunelleschi's crucifix; and Michelangelo's painstaking work on the Sistine Chapel, harassed by the impatient Pope Julius II. The Lives also convey much about Vasari himself and his outstanding abilities as a critic inspired by his passion for art.
About the Author
Giorgio Vasari (1511-74) was an accomplished painter and architect, but it is for his illuminating biographies that he is best remembered.
George Bull translated widely from the Italian, including for Penguin Classics including Cellini's 'Autobiography' and Machiavelli's 'The Prince'. He is also the author of a number of books on the Renaissance.
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The flood of misfortunes which continuously swept over and submerged the unhappy country of Italy not only destroyed everything worthy to be called a building but also, and this was of far greater consequence, completely wiped out the artists who lived there. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
The flood of misfortunes which continuously swept over and submerged the unhappy country of Italy not only destroyed everything worthy to be called a building but also, and this was of far greater consequence, completely wiped out the artists who lived there. Read the first page
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3 reviews
25 of 25 people found the following review helpful
Extremely readable, contemporary account of his peers
6 July 1999
Format:Paperback
Vasari was a life-long correspondent of Michaelangelo, a contemporary of Leonardo, etc., so the accounts are written about his friends and comnpetitors, not 100+ years later, thru the prism of time. Yet this translation is in readable, 20th Century English.
The chapters on Brunelleschi, Donato, etc. are lively, entertaining as well as instructive. MUST reading for anyone going to Italy, or to see works of the Florentine artists.
(N.B. I am an engineer who never had a fine arts class, ever!)
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Giorgio Vasari - Lives of the Artists Volume One
24 Jun 2008
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
A good introduction to Medieval, Renaissance, and Mannerist artists written by someone who lived around their time and had actual contact with some of the artists, as well as personal painting experience. He is, however, colored by his personal relationships with the artists, hyperbolic, and constrained by the Zeitgeist of the era. In exploring the relationships of artist and patron he is able to shed light on their social situation and the constant struggle of the elevation of the art of painting among the liberal arts. In English, some of the grandeur of his writing is lost, and it lacks the poetic ease of the Italian original. If you want a fuller version, I suggest (especially for bilingual speakers) a translation with the Italian original on the other side of the page.
Lives of the Artists by Vasari
4 Oct 2011
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Printed originally in Italian in the mid-sixteenth century, this book is considered not only the first history of art but also the first to put into words the process of growth and rebirth that characterized the Renaissance. Vasari writes about artists who were, for the most part, his contemporaries. He knew of their work and their lives, if not first-hand then by reputation or by association. The little stories he weaves into their lives give insight into each artist's personality. Though Vasari does try to make them all fit the mold of the Renaissance man, he shows us the chinks in the facade.
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