The Lives of the Artists
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- Author：Giorgio Vasari
- ISBN：0199537194
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Summary
Packed with facts， attributions， and entertaining anecdotes about his contemporaries， Vasari's collection of biographical accounts also presents a highly influential theory of the development of Renaissance art。
Beginning with Cimabue and Giotto， who represent the infancy of art， Vasari considers the period of youthful vigour， shaped by Donatello， Brunelleschi， Ghiberti， and Masaccio， before discussing the mature period of perfection， dominated by the titanic figures of Leonardo， Raphael， and Michelangelo。
This specially commissioned translation contains thirty-six of the most important lives as well as an introduction and explanatory notes。
About the Series:
For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe。 Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship， providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features， including expert introductions by leading authorities， helpful notes to clarify the text， up-to-date bibliographies for further study， and much more。
Reviews
Roxana
，
Interesting book， a masterpiece to study a very important part of history for the Arts in general
Rich Gibbons
，
Fantastic book！
Lauren Kammerdiener
，
"Design， however， is the foundation of both these arts， or rather the animating principle of all creative processes; and surely design existed in absolute perfection before the Creation when Almighty God， having made the vast expanse of the universe and adorned the heavens with His shining lights， directed His creative intellect further， to clear air and the solid earth。 And then， in the act of creating man， He fashioned the first forms of painting and sculpture in the sublime grace of create "Design， however， is the foundation of both these arts， or rather the animating principle of all creative processes; and surely design existed in absolute perfection before the Creation when Almighty God， having made the vast expanse of the universe and adorned the heavens with His shining lights， directed His creative intellect further， to clear air and the solid earth。 And then， in the act of creating man， He fashioned the first forms of painting and sculpture in the sublime grace of created things。" I picked this up in a used bookshop with great curiosity after having read so many snippets and fragments from it as well as studying Vasari himself for art history at university。 I thought it'd be interesting to read this pivotal work in its entirety and learn a little more about the Renaissance artists I know so well from one of their contemporaries。This is certainly a dense work， denser， perhaps， than I had anticipated， but I found its level of detail， and Vasari's commitment to the facts， incredibly impressive。 The vignettes he offered up were amusing， and I was surprised to learn just how much overlap there was across the lives of many of these artists。I think it would be a stretch to really say I enjoyed this， as， again， it was pretty dense。 My main issue was that Vasari spent a lot of time going into detail describing specific works， which， even with ones I was familiar with， I found difficult to visualize。 I suppose at the time when you couldn't just quickly Google these pieces， this would have been helpful， but I honestly found these descriptions uninteresting and even sometimes rather overwhelming。 I think reading an illustrated edition of this would be a wonderful experience， much more fulfilling than just reading a blanket description; I suppose I could have Googled this pieces as they arose for myself， but I honestly didn't really go to that effort。All in all， I'm glad I picked this up， though， again， for the modern reader， I'd recommend seeing if you can find an illustrated edition that includes the works Vasari references， as I think it would allow for a far more rounded appreciation of both this text and the lives of the artists celebrated here themselves。 。。。more
Carlos Gonzalez
，
It’s ok。 Kinda boring actually。 I though I would have loved this book but if you like art and history then this your book。 But to be honest it sucked ass！
Judith
，
Such a personalization of so many of the painters， the way a friend knows an entire group of people。 From one man's observations an objective view of each person; their forte to their fears， pieves， likes， dislikes， tolerances and intolerances all come forth to bring them into human form。 We are fortunate Vasari wrote。 Such a personalization of so many of the painters， the way a friend knows an entire group of people。 From one man's observations an objective view of each person; their forte to their fears， pieves， likes， dislikes， tolerances and intolerances all come forth to bring them into human form。 We are fortunate Vasari wrote。 。。。more
Taliarochminska
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whimsical， perhaps biased， but does it matter after five centuries？ lovely anecdotes，my favorite one is about Masaccio being a kind himbo
Rakel
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Pensum。 Utdrag。 «Cimabue and Giotto»«Michael Angelo»
Reut Dominits
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A MUST READ to everyone who is passionate about Italian Art。
Bert Bruins
，
Expecting a somewhat dry book from a 16th Century Italian author， this was easier and more enjoyable to read than I expected。 Rather than being formalistic and pompous， this book is full of saucy and funny anecdotes about the Renaissance artists that preceded Vasari， some of whom he knew personally。 The classical roll-call that we know， from Cimabue to Giotto， via Ucello， Bruneleschi， Ghiberti to da Vinci and Michelangelo is often atrributed to Vasari and this is probably correct。 However， Vasar Expecting a somewhat dry book from a 16th Century Italian author， this was easier and more enjoyable to read than I expected。 Rather than being formalistic and pompous， this book is full of saucy and funny anecdotes about the Renaissance artists that preceded Vasari， some of whom he knew personally。 The classical roll-call that we know， from Cimabue to Giotto， via Ucello， Bruneleschi， Ghiberti to da Vinci and Michelangelo is often atrributed to Vasari and this is probably correct。 However， Vasari has also been accused of being the cause of the traditional neglect of the Northern Renaissance （Flemish， German and Scandinavian art）， but this seems unfair having read Vasari's work。 He is clearly intent on writing about the artists of Florence and Tuscany with the occasional foray to Mantua， Rome and Venice where it can't be avoided。 I found two mentions of German artists （Duerer being one of them）， and these were respectful references， just not part of what he set himself out to do。To my surprise in the introduction Vasari blames the so-called Dark Ages that followed the Roman Empire not just on invading barbarians （Goths， Vandals and Lombards）， but also on the narrowminded， bigoted Christian church of the 5th and 6th Century （covered in greater depth in Catherine Nixey's "The Darkening Age"）。 I would have thought that such an opinion was enough to get one hung， drawn and quartered in Vasari's time， but apparently not so。It was interesting to read that Vasari describes several of the artists as having been unteachable and wild in their youth， to the despair of their parents， who then palmed them off on nearby goldsmiths or artist studios， and the rest is history。 Now we appear to give such children Ritalin and say they suffer from ADHD。。。。 Some progress！This book is most enjoyable for its anecdotes and interesting snippets of information， such as that Michelangelo's magnificent David statue was cut out of a large block of marble messed up by another sculptor， and that was just sitting around because of the mess-up。 Or that pope Julius II hit Michelangelo with a stick at one point and threatened to have him "fall" of his scaffolds if he didn't hurry up。。。。 （It took me a little while to realise that when Julius II commissions Michelangelo to paint frescos for the "hall of Sixtus" he is talking about the famous Sistine Chapel）。I was myself lucky enough to see the Sistine Chapel aged 15 on a school trip as well as the "Pieta" in St Peter's （she looks "too young" said a contemporary critic about the marble version of Mary with the body of Jesus in her arms。。。）。This is well worth reading if you're interested in the history of European art。 。。。more
Rachel
，
Art historical writing suffers from one major drawback， which is certainly not unique to Vasari: a dearth of pictures。 In Vasari’s time it would have been incomprehensively expensive to reproduce all the works described in his books， but there’s no reason in the year of our Lord 2021 that this edition couldn’t have had even some black and white prints。 Then again， books that do attempt to include pictures of the art usually don’t include all of it， and unless I read with a search-bar open nearby Art historical writing suffers from one major drawback， which is certainly not unique to Vasari: a dearth of pictures。 In Vasari’s time it would have been incomprehensively expensive to reproduce all the works described in his books， but there’s no reason in the year of our Lord 2021 that this edition couldn’t have had even some black and white prints。 Then again， books that do attempt to include pictures of the art usually don’t include all of it， and unless I read with a search-bar open nearby I don’t get a great sense of the pictures described。 It doesn’t help that Vasari is describing religious works， which have a stultifying similarity of characters and scenes， or that he’s restricted - by writing in 1568 - from suggesting that yet another picture of the Virgin Mary is passé， could we try something fun and new maybe？“[…] all the beauty that belongs to an image of the Virgin Mary: modesty in her eyes， honour in the brow， grace in the nose， and virtue in the mouth; not to mention that Our Lady’s garment reflects her infinity simplicity and purity。”Setting this year’s trend， eh， Big V？ （This is what they all read like。 YAWN。）Thanks to various art podcasts and half of ‘The Agony and The Ecstasy’， I know the gag reel of Vasari’s anecdotes already。 What surprised me is that they’re quite rare。 For every one description of Michaelangelo being a snotty bitch， Giotto painting real good flies， or Donatello dropping his eggs， there’s ten pages of eye-glazing fresco description， or a run-down of the economics of building big-ass churches。 And， obviously， all these ‘gals being pals！’ interludes were never going to be interpreted by Vasari in the light of romantic relationships。 I ship Donatello/Brunellechi， anyway。The book is very heavy on the Michelangelo love。 I’ve written in the margin of the intro， ‘did a snake write this？’“When a son of Francia’s was introduced to him as a very handsome young man Michelangelo said to him: ‘The living figures your father makes are better than those he paints。’”Ooh， you FLIRT。The thing is， though， this is a primary document， thus its value far outstrips its quality。 Vasari was writing between 0 and 100 years of the deaths of the artists he’s describing。 It’s required reading for that reason。 It would have been nice， though， for that documentarian to have been someone who gave one fuck about dates。 。。。more
Ramesh Naidu
，
A wondrous odyssey through the renaissance guided by one of its luminaries ！！ What else could one ask for ？ well I for one would like a lot of time to be able to actually wander through Florence as Vasari guides us from masterpieces to masterpiece ， from master to master 。
Mariola Wasiak
，
。。。one of my favorite books。。。。:-）
Gido Politiek
，
3，5*
Pınar Tınaztepe Kaya
，
2020 yılında okuduğum son kitap ve severek okudum。 Okuması zor bir kitap; fakat bilmediğim çok şey öğrendim。 Çok sayıda sanatçının hayat hikayeleri， daha doğrusu ürettiği eserleri ve diğer sanatçılar ile arasındaki bağı okuyorsunuz。 Celil Sadık'ın "Uygarlığın Ayak İzleri" isimli ilk çıkan kitabındaki dip notlarında tavsiye edilen kitaptı。 Okumaktan ve Sanat Tarihine ait yeni şeyler öğrenmekten memnuniyet duyduğum bir kitap oldu。 2020 yılında okuduğum son kitap ve severek okudum。 Okuması zor bir kitap; fakat bilmediğim çok şey öğrendim。 Çok sayıda sanatçının hayat hikayeleri， daha doğrusu ürettiği eserleri ve diğer sanatçılar ile arasındaki bağı okuyorsunuz。 Celil Sadık'ın "Uygarlığın Ayak İzleri" isimli ilk çıkan kitabındaki dip notlarında tavsiye edilen kitaptı。 Okumaktan ve Sanat Tarihine ait yeni şeyler öğrenmekten memnuniyet duyduğum bir kitap oldu。 。。。more
Kostas Ierok。
，
Μου αρέσει πάντα να διαβάζω για δουλειές ανθρώπων που σημάδεψαν την ιστορία。
David Stockard
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9:17:58511 pages100 pages- 1:34:20200 pages- 3:22:28300 pages- 5:18:37400 pages- 7:08:55500 pages- 9:06:49
Martin Ridgway
，
It's a bit of a struggle to get through this volume （and that's only half of it）。I'll start with an appropriated misquote from Douglas Adams: "where it is innaccurate it is at least definitively innaccurate"。Vasari's Book 1 starts 250 years before his time and is， let's say， sometimes dubious。Enjoy the ride but remember:He's very biased towards Florence - and his home town of Arezzo。He's outright sycophantic towards the Medici。He has some very set ideas of how artists should be。He's very weak on It's a bit of a struggle to get through this volume （and that's only half of it）。I'll start with an appropriated misquote from Douglas Adams: "where it is innaccurate it is at least definitively innaccurate"。Vasari's Book 1 starts 250 years before his time and is， let's say， sometimes dubious。Enjoy the ride but remember:He's very biased towards Florence - and his home town of Arezzo。He's outright sycophantic towards the Medici。He has some very set ideas of how artists should be。He's very weak on the role and agency of patrons。History was a moral tale at this time。The language is a bit stilted and repetative - not Vasari's fault as he's inventing art history and the way to comment on artists and their works。I can't tell if some of the faults here are Vasari's or the translator's。 One thing that hinted at the latter is that he tries to avoid Italian words like "putti" and replaces with "young boys"， which leads to some vey odd readings。 I'm sure there are others I didn't spot。 。。。more
Robert
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I started reading this thinking it would cover the techniques and materials of the Renaissance masters。 Apparently， that's another Vasari book （unsurprisingly） called， "Vasari on Technique。" This is more of a straight up accounting of the major works of the period。 Having someone describe artworks through words doesn't really make for the most exciting read。 There's only so many ways you can say， "His painting was almost indistinguishable from nature。" The most interesting parts of the book are I started reading this thinking it would cover the techniques and materials of the Renaissance masters。 Apparently， that's another Vasari book （unsurprisingly） called， "Vasari on Technique。" This is more of a straight up accounting of the major works of the period。 Having someone describe artworks through words doesn't really make for the most exciting read。 There's only so many ways you can say， "His painting was almost indistinguishable from nature。" The most interesting parts of the book are the various anecdotes about the day-to-day activities of the old masters。 But those stories a few and far between the rote cataloguing of works。 。。。more
Vladimir Putin
，
Suck a good idea， I think living artists
BAM Endlessly Booked
，
I think I’m actually reading the unabridged version， which is sooooo much longer than this version。
Faith Selby
，
Page turner！ Noble soul Vasari， recounts the resounding everyday trivialities， passions， and spirit of renaissance artists。
Henrique Iwao
，
Seleções desse livro dos primórdios da história da arte da Europa italiana， que de tão influente， acabou por determinar os nomes das tartarugas ninja séculos depois。 Publicado pela primeira vez em 1550， em Florença， consiste em uma série de mini biografias e anedotas dos grandes mestres da pintura， escultura， desenho e arquitetura do renascimento， século XV-XVI。 Eu não recomendo， por ser pueril e um tanto chato， apesar da versão charmosa a que ouvi （ótimo narrador e música ocasional incrível）。 E Seleções desse livro dos primórdios da história da arte da Europa italiana， que de tão influente， acabou por determinar os nomes das tartarugas ninja séculos depois。 Publicado pela primeira vez em 1550， em Florença， consiste em uma série de mini biografias e anedotas dos grandes mestres da pintura， escultura， desenho e arquitetura do renascimento， século XV-XVI。 Eu não recomendo， por ser pueril e um tanto chato， apesar da versão charmosa a que ouvi （ótimo narrador e música ocasional incrível）。 Entretanto， lá aprenderemos que Filippo Brunelleschi fingiu estar doente para obrigar o incompetente Lorenzo a trabalhar e mostrar que só ele poderia terminar a obra。 Fra Fillipo Lippi， quis pintar Lucrécia no monasteiro， como uma virgem， mas acabou assim tornando a obra ficcional。 Leonardo da Vinci， de dons divinos， que aprendia de tudo mas largava， e era muito forte e belo， e suas pinturas tem olhos que têm um brilho realista， que mostra como a arte imita a natureza， e nos faz imaginar que há uma pulsação no coração de Monalisa。 Sua mulher era pintada com gente dançando e fazendo música em volta dela， pra que ela emanasse felicidade。 Piero de Cosimo， se enfurnava pintando no quarto， e cozinhava ovos， uma dúzia de cada vez， pra ir comendo e não ter de parar de pintar。 Das pinturas de Raphael Sanzio， dizemos verdadeiramente coisas vivas， de tão incríveis。 E de tão divina， de um náufrago inteiro， só restava a obra dele， intacta， pois até a fúria das ondas respeitava pintura de tão grande perfeição。 Rosso Fiorentino， por sua vez， de boa vida， acaba por acusar seu amigo de roubar-lhe e por estar errado e se suicidou， procurando em Paris um licor venenoso， que tomou。 Franchesco Parmigianino era um tolo que gastou sua vida em insumos e experimentos de alquimia; e sua barba cresceu desordenada， ficando parecido com um selvagem。 Michelangelo Buonarotti dissecou muitos cadáveres afim de aperfeiçoar-se no desenho。 E quando um bispo o tirou， o papa lhe deu um solapo e abençoou Michelangelo。 E lamentou a morte de Orbino como se ele fosse um amante muito amado， por que será？ E Deus para castigar o orgulho romano permitio que os Borbões a saqueassem （isso em 1527）。 Por fim， Jacobo Sansovino aos 93 anos um dia foi dormir， e tão saudável e abençoado， simplesmente não conseguiu levantar， sem sofrer， daí definhando gradualmente até a morte。 。。。more
Carolyn Halliday
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Very interesting
Anu
，
More about artists than art， this book is a fascinating compendium of artists over a 250 year period， documenting how they worked and lived。 While there are some curious vignettes of artists illustrating their eccentricity and passion， the parts of the book I loved beat were the parts where Vasari describes the artists’ love of art。 How it moves， occupies and elevates artists in powerful ways。 Any crafts person， including those of us in technology is likely to find this touching and inspirationa More about artists than art， this book is a fascinating compendium of artists over a 250 year period， documenting how they worked and lived。 While there are some curious vignettes of artists illustrating their eccentricity and passion， the parts of the book I loved beat were the parts where Vasari describes the artists’ love of art。 How it moves， occupies and elevates artists in powerful ways。 Any crafts person， including those of us in technology is likely to find this touching and inspirational。 I sure wish the book had actual illustrations to go with descriptions of the artists’ work。 Also， it was a bonus to learn that the author was an artist himself， that lived during the time of Michelangelo！ Cool read overall。 。。。more
Matteo
，
Libro importantissimo per chi è interessato alla storia dell'arte。 Io lo utilizzo come una sorta di enciclopedia。 Libro importantissimo per chi è interessato alla storia dell'arte。 Io lo utilizzo come una sorta di enciclopedia。 。。。more
Rochelle
，
Anyone who is interested in Italian Renaissance Art should read this book。 It is beautiful and insightful collection of biographies of major artists of the Renaissance， written by a contemporary of them。 A priceless document that should never be out of print。
Breana Menzel
，
Essential。
Aoife
，
review coming soonREVIEW HERE！ "Provided they are honest and innocent of lies， books travel freely and are trusted wherever they go。"--Giorgio Vasari， Lives of the Artists， page 209。Some quick thoughts:1。 It only focuses on Italian artists， at least in my shortened version。 I couldn't find my edition here but of the twenty artists discussed， thirteen were from Florence and the rest from like two or three other Italian cities。2。 The only women mentioned are either unnamed wives， unnamed mistresse review coming soonREVIEW HERE！ "Provided they are honest and innocent of lies， books travel freely and are trusted wherever they go。"--Giorgio Vasari， Lives of the Artists， page 209。Some quick thoughts:1。 It only focuses on Italian artists， at least in my shortened version。 I couldn't find my edition here but of the twenty artists discussed， thirteen were from Florence and the rest from like two or three other Italian cities。2。 The only women mentioned are either unnamed wives， unnamed mistresses or saints。 This may not be a big deal for some people， or it may be the kind of thing they pick up immediately。 3。 The main theme of the paintings was Roman Catholicism。 And then a bit more Roman Catholicism。 And then some Greco-Roman myth。 And then--you guessed it--Roman Catholicism。4。 The ultimate goal and the ultimate beauty of a painting lay in how near it was to Nature and real life。5。 I grew to like Vasari's voice。 Some of the dryer highlights include:"What a deplorable contrast is presented by our modern artists who are not content with injuring one another， but who viciously and enviously rend others as well。"--page 139"And if I have failed to mention any other foreigners and Florentines who have gone there to study， let me just say that where great artists flock， so do the lesser。"--page 131"[T]his comes at no surprise， since everyone in Florence has pretensions to understanding art as much as the experience master。"--page 146Also da Vinci's entire chapter was a rollercoaster that I won't describe for spoiler-y reasons， but that I highly recommened。 。。。more
Martin
，
This book is where the renaissance starts， Vasari himself coined the term， as well as describing what came before the golden age of renewal in Italian art， as Gothic， a term he used in a negative way。 He worships at the artistic & cultural altar he himself helped to build， and it is an entirely credible， as well as incredible， artifice of modern culture， a structure that allowed anyone who could read， to understand more about the creation of the art we all love， and about its creators。 It gives This book is where the renaissance starts， Vasari himself coined the term， as well as describing what came before the golden age of renewal in Italian art， as Gothic， a term he used in a negative way。 He worships at the artistic & cultural altar he himself helped to build， and it is an entirely credible， as well as incredible， artifice of modern culture， a structure that allowed anyone who could read， to understand more about the creation of the art we all love， and about its creators。 It gives us a starting point， and then guides us， through with Giorgio's astounding melange of stories and anecdotes， histories， exaggerations， lies， half-truths， but above all， a true art lover's eye for the absolute pinnacle of Italian art that is part of the modern world， but remembers its medieval past， and idealises the classical art of ancient Greec and Rome。 If you like renaissance art， if you like art， then this book is for you， but also if you like stories about people and history， that make them seem so close they're almost palpable。 This is a classic， one-off book， by the man who invented his own genre， that of art historian， his legacy is of such magnitude， it would be difficult to honestly judge it。 Everything we know， and think we know， about the most famous artists in history & the world， starts with Giorgio's wonderful book。 。。。more
Tau
，
Didn't hate it， didn't love it。 It felt repetitive after the 200th page and it became more about finishing rather than learning about Renaissance artists。 Didn't hate it， didn't love it。 It felt repetitive after the 200th page and it became more about finishing rather than learning about Renaissance artists。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Lives of the Artists
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Lives of the Artists&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft