Questions About The Lives of the Artists

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Answered Questions (2)

Do you find the anecdotes still amusing in today's world? What is it you like about the book especially?

Whitney It depends a lot on your prior knowledge of art history. I enjoyed the feeling of reading about these artists from what was a contemporary view. I lik…moreIt depends a lot on your prior knowledge of art history. I enjoyed the feeling of reading about these artists from what was a contemporary view. I liked that Vasari goes into the person behind the artwork, it makes them seem more real (flaws and all). At the same time, he does add a lot of flowery speech, which would have you believe that each artist descended from the heavens to spread art to the world. Perhaps this was a common courtesy at the time. Between the over-the-top compliments and real talk, a happy medium emerges. I must say, you do have to read between the lines, and it isn't straight forward, but I for one did find it amusing. Maybe even more amusing than research written today as it isn't covered in 400+ years of theory and academia.

With that said, you could probably find the same anecdotes somewhere in a modern text without the dry experience. I don't know where, but considering this book has been taught to many Art Historians over the years, I can't imagine someone hasn't summed these up somewhere else. So it would depend a lot on your personal preference between liking to read old dry texts vs. having a contemporary view.(less)

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Why am i so horney when reading this??? Just me or nah??