Vasari's Lives of the Artists: Giotto, Masaccio, Fra Filippo Lippi, Botticelli, Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo, Titian

by Giorgio Vasari, Mrs. Jonathan Foster (Translator), Marilyn Aronberg Lavin (Editor)

An instant success upon its publication in the mid-16th century, Giorgio Vasari's Lives of the Artists remains one of the principal resources for study of the art and artists of the Italian Renaissance. Nothing of the scope and magnitude of this work had ever been conceived; the first complete history of modern art, it is widely regarded as the most influential art history book ever written.
The Lives' colorful and detailed portraits of the most representative figures of Italian painting and sculpture trace the flowering of the Renaissance across three centuries. This single-volume edition of selections from Vasari's immense work features eight of the book's most noteworthy Giotto, Masaccio, Fra Filippo Lippi, Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Michelangelo, and Titian. It also includes an introduction, notes, and glossary; as well as woodcut portraits of each artist by Vasari himself. Students, teachers, and art enthusiasts will find this convenient edition an indispensable resource.

Genres: Art, History, Art History, Biography, Nonfiction, Renaissance, Classics

256 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2005

About the author

Giorgio Vasari was an Italian painter and architect, known for his famous biographies of Italian artists.

Reviews

[Sharon Barrow Wilfong · Rating 4 out of 5]

We get more of Vasari's flowery, subjective opinion of the works of these artists, more of a resume of their work, than a chronology of their lives. However, the book is valuable because a contemporary artist is describing men, some of whom he knew personally, who are the greatest artists in history. After reading about each artists, it's a good idea to google their work to see what Vasari is talking about.

[Amaury Ledesma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Leí este libro debido a mis ganas de adentrarme mucho más al ambiente del renacimiento. Vasari expone un amplio catálogo de artistas desde el siglo XIV hasta el XVI -con regla general de presentar en su “Vidas” artistas ya muertos, con la única excepción de Miguel Ángel, que aún seguía vivo cuando Vasari publicó su libro.
Lo que me agradó de esta obra fue que el entorno y ambiente renacentista del cual me sentía ansioso por empaparme se plasmó; además las anécdotas de ciertos artistas y sus frases me parecieron exquisitas.
No obstante -y no soy quien para criticar a Vasari- me pareció un tanto pesado el hecho de que en ciertos artistas se notara que el arquitecto no había recopilado los datos suficientes e intentaba rellanar los huecos con extensas descripciones de las obras, para que al final la “biografía” fuera más bien una reseña artística de los trabajos del artistas en turno.
Además, y esto no es nuevo en absoluto, los errores que comete el autor en ciertos datos si ponen en duda la obra como un documento fidedigno del periodo. Vasari comete muchos desaciertos en torno a los artistas, algunas veces hasta deliberadamente; cambiando nombres, fechas, lugares, etc.
Lo que más me chocó fue sobretodo en la última parte, donde pasa de hablar en primera persona a tercera persona de sí mismo para colarse en la “Vida” de Rafael, Leonardo, Miguel Ángel y Tiziano. A uno como lector le parecen bastante extrañas estas transiciones que suelen ocurrir incluso de un párrafo a otro.
Este libro es lo que es: un panorama al ambiente artístico del renacimiento italiano, y cómo no, sí fue el propio Vasari quien acuñó ese término (Renacimiento) en su obra.
Sirve como entretenimiento, pero no lo usaría como fuente primaria o central de estudios de la época, sino que solo de soporte o inmersión preliminar al quattrocento y cinquecento.

[Taryn Wolf · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not sure if it was the translation, but I couldn't make it another page through this book without having a meltdown. Literally picking it up irritated me.

Every time I'd see an endnote, I'd flip to the back and it would say something to the effect of "inaccurate," "wrong," or "false." I'm not going to waste my time on a non-fiction that's full of falsehoods. I understand it was written in 1550, so much more difficult for Vasari to research properly. But, I'd rather read biographies on each of these artists from modern day researched biographers than read this. Plus, this translation's writing style is abysmal and I can't care a fig for all of the paintings. I get this is super important for art history majors, but I'm not learning about the artists like I expected.

Plus the fact that this version failed me on Leonardo da Vinci, one of my favorite historical figures of all time, isn't acceptable. I do not suggest this specific version whatsoever. I read a few pages of a different version from the library, which I may consider picking back up at a different time. But, the Dover translation isn't it.

[Reading · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tóm tắt tiểu sử và giới thiệu một số tác phẩm tiêu biểu của ba họa sỹ vĩ đại của thời Phục hưng. Theo nhận định chung, danh xưng họa sỹ chưa đủ nói lên tầm vóc của những con người này. Nếu yêu thích lịch sử nghệ thuật, các tác phẩm sau này như Leonardo - Walter Isaacson, Michlangelo kiệt tác cuộc đời - Miles J. Unger sẽ cho chúng ta thấy rõ hơn cuộc đời cũng như sức sáng tạo của những vĩ nhân này.
Tuy nhiên, cuốn sách ngắn gọn của Vasary có một lợi thế, đó là tác giả là người cùng thời với các nghệ sỹ, do vậy cảm nhận, tình cảm của ông đối với 3 nghệ sỹ này sẽ mang tính thời sự và có lẽ các sự kiện cũng có tính chính xác cao (mặc dù lối diễn đạt hơi bóng bẩy, nhưng có lẽ đó là lối viết phổ biến thời bấy giờ).

[Neil Saltmarsh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the earliest biography, of a modern type, that I have read. That Giorgio Vasari, lived as an artist and was a friend or acquaintances of a few of the artists is a wonderful window into their lives and works. While some of the stories or attributions are not correct, is due to the oral tradition that Vasari would have come across particularly from Michelango. Michelangelo fills a great proportion of the book as Vasari was a student of his. Da Vinci's biography is limited to his art and the fact that he did not complete many of his works or that his works continued throughout his lifetime, but no small admiration of Da Vinci's realism. Overall, this is a great contribution to art history of those times.

[Magpie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chloe bookclub 2019

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

The "original" book of art history, Vasari's book on the lives of famous Italian artists is the foundation of how we think and talk about Renaissance artists, and is never less than surprising for that. We tend to forget that "common knowledge" has its origins in something, so this book, by someone who actually KNEW many of these artists, is the source of so much of how we think about them. This book, along with Alberti's book "On Painting," are essential guides to understanding Renaissance art from the perspex gives of those who made it.

[Sofie S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good but not what I was expecting. The little anecdotes about the artists and their lives were great; long pages filled with descriptions of every single work completed by the artists were not. I think it would be interesting to have pictures that accompanied the descriptions of the works of the artists.

[Kileen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Art history folks should read this book.