Giorgio Vasari (30 July 1511 – 27 June 1574) was an

Italian Renaissance painter Italian Renaissance painting is the painting of the period beginning in the late 13th century and flourishing from the early 15th to late 16th centuries, occurring in the Italian Peninsula, which was at that time divided into many political sta ...

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

art historian Art history is the study of artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Traditionally, the ...

, and

biographer Biographers are authors who write an account of another person's life, while autobiographers are authors who write their own biography. Biographers Countries of working life: Ab=Arabia, AG=Ancient Greece, Al=Australia, Am=Armenian, AR=Ancient Rome ...

who is best known for his work ''

Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects ''The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects'' () is a series of artist biographies written by 16th-century Italian painter and architect Giorgio Vasari, which is considered "perhaps the most famous, and even today the ...

'', considered the ideological foundation of Western art-historical writing, and still much cited in modern biographies of the many

Italian Renaissance The Italian Renaissance ( ) was a period in History of Italy, Italian history between the 14th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Western Europe and marked t ...

artists he covers, including

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 1452 - 2 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially rested o ...

and

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (6March 147518February 1564), known mononymously as Michelangelo, was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was inspir ...

, although he is now regarded as including many factual errors, especially when covering artists from before he was born. Vasari was a

Mannerist Mannerism is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Italy, when the Baroque style largely replaced it ...

painter who was highly regarded both as a painter and architect in his day but rather less so in later centuries. He was effectively what would now be called the

minister of culture A culture minister or a heritage minister is a common cabinet position in governments. The culture minister is typically responsible for cultural policy, which often includes arts policy (direct and indirect support to artists and arts organiza ...

to the

Medici The House of Medici ( , ; ) was an Italian banking family and political dynasty that first consolidated power in the Republic of Florence under Cosimo de' Medici and his grandson Lorenzo "the Magnificent" during the first half of the 15th ...

court in

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

, and the ''Lives'' promoted, with enduring success, the idea of Florentine superiority in the

visual arts The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics (art), ceramics, photography, video, image, filmmaking, design, crafts, and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual a ...

. Vasari designed the ''Tomb of Michelangelo'', his hero, in the Basilica of Santa Croce, Florence, that was completed in 1578. Based on Vasari's text in print about

Giotto Giotto di Bondone (; – January 8, 1337), known mononymously as Giotto, was an List of Italian painters, Italian painter and architect from Florence during the Late Middle Ages. He worked during the International Gothic, Gothic and Italian Ren ...

's new manner of painting as a ''rinascita'' (rebirth), author

Jules Michelet Jules Michelet (; 21 August 1798 – 9 February 1874) was a French historian and writer. He is best known for his multivolume work ''Histoire de France'' (History of France). Michelet was influenced by Giambattista Vico; he admired Vico's emphas ...

, in his ''Histoire de France'' (1835), suggested the adoption of Vasari's concept, using the term ''

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

'' (from French) to distinguish the cultural change. The term was adopted thereafter in historiography and is still in use today.

Life

Vasari was born prematurely on 30 July 1511 in

Arezzo Arezzo ( , ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in Italy and the capital of the Province of Arezzo, province of the same name located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about southeast of Florence at an elevation of Above mean sea level, above sea level. As of 2 ...

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...

.Gaunt, W. (ed.) (1962) ''Everyman's dictionary of pictorial art. Volume II.'' London: Dent, p. 328. Recommended at an early age by his cousin

Luca Signorelli Luca Signorelli ( – 16 October 1523) was an Italian Renaissance painter from Cortona, in Tuscany, who was noted in particular for his ability as a draftsman and his use of foreshortening. His massive frescos of the ''Last Judgment'' (1499–15 ...

, he became a pupil of

Guglielmo da Marsiglia Guglielmo da Marsiglia (1475–1537) was an Italian painter of stained glass of the 16th century. He is also known as Guglielmo da Marcillat and was a native of St. Mihiel near Meuse, France. He created 3 windows in 1519 for the Cathedral of Arez ...

, a skillful painter of

stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

. Sent to

at the age of sixteen by Cardinal

Silvio Passerini Silvio Passerini (1469 – 20 April 1529) was an Italian cardinal. Biography Born in Cortona, Passerini was taken under the wing of the powerful Florentine Medici family, after his father, Rosado, was imprisoned for too openly supporting the Med ...

, he joined the circle of Andrea del Sarto and his pupils,

Rosso Fiorentino Giovanni Battista di Jacopo (8 March 1495 – 14 November 1540), known as Rosso Fiorentino (meaning "Florentine Redhead" in Italian) or Il Rosso ("The Redhead"), was an Italian Mannerist painter who worked in oil and fresco Fresco ( or ...

and

Jacopo Pontormo Jacopo Carucci or Carrucci (; May 24, 1494 – January 2, 1557), usually known as Jacopo (da) Pontormo or simply Pontormo (), was an Italian Mannerist painter and portraitist from the Florentine School. His work represents a profound stylisti ...

, where his humanist education was encouraged. He was befriended by

, whose painting style would influence his own. Vasari enjoyed high repute during his lifetime and amassed a considerable fortune. He married Niccolosa Bacci, a member of one of the richest and most prominent families of Arezzo. He was made Knight of the Golden Spur by the Pope. He was elected to the municipal council of his native town and finally, rose to the supreme office of gonfaloniere. Vasari built a fine house in Arezzo in 1547 and decorated its walls and vaults with paintings. It is now a museum in his honour named the Casa Vasari, whilst his residence in Florence is also preserved. In 1563, he helped found the Florentine ''Accademia e Compagnia delle Arti del Disegno'', with Grand Duke

Cosimo I de' Medici Cosimo I de' Medici (12 June 1519 – 21 April 1574) was the second and last duke of Florence from 1537 until 1569, when he became the first grand duke of Tuscany, a title he held until his death. Cosimo I succeeded his cousin to the duchy. ...

and

as ''capi'' of the institution. Thirty-six artists were chosen as members. He died on 27 June 1574 in

Grand Duchy of Tuscany The Grand Duchy of Tuscany (; ) was an Italian monarchy located in Central Italy that existed, with interruptions, from 1569 to 1860, replacing the Republic of Florence. The grand duchy's capital was Florence. In the 19th century the population ...

, aged 62.

Painting

Giorgio Vasari - Six Tuscan Poets - Google Art Project

In 1529, he visited

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

where he studied the works of

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), now generally known in English as Raphael ( , ), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of paintings by Raphael, His work is admired for its cl ...

and other artists of the Roman

High Renaissance In art history, the High Renaissance was a short period of the most exceptional artistic production in the Italian states, particularly Rome, capital of the Papal States, and in Florence, during the Italian Renaissance. Most art historians stat ...

. Vasari's own

paintings were more admired in his lifetime than afterwards. In 1547, he completed the hall of the chancery in

Palazzo della Cancelleria The Palazzo della Cancelleria (Palace of the Chancellery, referring to the former Apostolic Chancery of the Pope) is a Renaissance palace in Rome, Italy, situated between the present Corso Vittorio Emanuele II and the Campo de' Fiori, in the rion ...

in Rome with frescoes that received the name Sala dei Cento Giorni. He was regularly employed by members of the

Medici family The House of Medici ( , ; ) was an Italian banking family and political dynasty that first consolidated power in the Republic of Florence under Cosimo de' Medici and his grandson Lorenzo "the Magnificent" during the first half of the 15th ...

and Rome. He also worked in

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

(for example on the

Vasari Sacristy The Vasari Sacristy (Italian - ''Sacrestia del Vasari'') or Old Sacristy (Italian - ''Sacrestia Vecchia'') is a room in Sant'Anna dei Lombardi, Naples, Italy, one of its two sacristy, sacristies. It was the refectory of the Olivetan monastery of S ...

), Arezzo, and other places. Many of his paintings still exist, the most important being on the wall and ceiling of the Sala di Cosimo I in the

Palazzo Vecchio The ( "Old Palace") is the town hall of Florence, Italy. It overlooks the , which holds a copy of Michelangelo's ''David'' statue, and the gallery of statues in the adjacent Loggia dei Lanzi. Originally called the ''Palazzo della Signoria'', a ...

in Florence, where he and his assistants worked from 1555. Vasari also helped to organize the decoration of the

Studiolo A cabinet (also known by other terms) was a private room in the houses and palaces of early modern Europe serving as a study or retreat, usually for a man. The cabinet would be furnished with books and works of art, and sited adjacent to his bed ...

, now reassembled in the Palazzo Vecchio. Giorgio Vasari - The Garden of Gethsemane - Google Art Project

In Rome, Vasari painted frescos in the ''Sala Regia''. Among his better-known pupils or followers are

Sebastiano Flori Sebastiano Flori (active 1545) was an Italian painter active in Rome and Umbria. Sebastiano was a pupil of Giorgio Vasari and he painted with him in the large frescoes in the Palazzo della Cancelleria The Palazzo della Cancelleria (Palace of the ...

Bartolomeo Carducci Bartolomeo Carducci (156014 November 1608) was an Italian painter, better known as Carducho, the Spanish corruption of his Italian patronymic. Biography Carducci was born in Florence, where he studied architecture and sculpture under Barto ...

Mirabello Cavalori Mirabello Cavalori (1535–1572) was an Italian painter of Mannerist style, active mainly in Florence. Cavalori was born in Salincorno, near Montefortino. He was a contemporary of Maso da San Friano and younger than Vasari. The latter painter ...

(Salincorno), Stefano Veltroni (of

Monte San Savino Monte San Savino is a town and comune in the province of Arezzo, Tuscany (Italy). It is located on the Essa stream in the Valdichiana. Several of its frazioni occupy higher hills, like Gargonza at and Palazzuolo, at an elevation of . History M ...

), and Alessandro Fortori (of Arezzo). His last major commission was a vast ''

The Last Judgement The Last Judgment is a concept found across the Abrahamic religions and the ''Frashokereti'' of Zoroastrianism. Christianity considers the Second Coming of Jesus Christ to entail the final judgment by God of all people who have ever lived, resu ...

'' fresco on the ceiling of the

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, usually dome-like structure on top of a building often crowning a larger roof or dome. Cupolas often serve as a roof lantern to admit light and air or as a lookout. The word derives, via Ital ...

of the

Florence Cathedral Florence Cathedral (), formally the Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Flower ( ), is the cathedral of the Catholic Archdiocese of Florence in Florence, Italy. Commenced in 1296 in the Gothic style to a design of Arnolfo di Cambio and completed b ...

that he began in 1572 with the assistance of the Bolognese painter

Lorenzo Sabatini Lorenzo Sabbatini or Sabatini, Sabattini or Sabadini (c. 1530–1576), sometimes referred to as Lorenzino da Bologna, was an Italian people, Italian painter of the Mannerist period from Bologna. Biography Sabbatini was born in Bologna and ...

. Unfinished at the time of Vasari's death, it was completed by

Federico Zuccari Federico Zuccaro, also known as Federico Zuccari and Federigo Zucchero ( July/August 1609), was an Italian painter, draughtsman, architect and writer. He worked in various cities in Italy, as well as in other countries such as Spain, France, t ...

Architecture

Aside from his career as a painter, Vasari was successful as an architect. His

loggia In architecture, a loggia ( , usually , ) is a covered exterior Long gallery, gallery or corridor, often on an upper level, sometimes on the ground level of a building. The corridor is open to the elements because its outer wall is only parti ...

of the Palazzo degli

Uffizi The Uffizi Gallery ( ; , ) is a prominent art museum adjacent to the Piazza della Signoria in the Historic Centre of Florence in the region of Tuscany, Italy. One of the most important Italian museums and the most visited, it is also one of th ...

by the

Arno The Arno is a river in the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the most important river of central Italy after the Tiber. Source and route The river originates on Monte Falterona in the Casentino area of the Apennines, and initially takes a sou ...

opens up the vista at the far end of its long narrow courtyard. It is a unique piece of urban planning that functions as a public piazza, and which, if considered as a short street, is unique as a Renaissance street with a unified architectural treatment. The view of the Loggia from the Arno reveals that the

Vasari Corridor The Vasari Corridor () is an elevated enclosed passageway in Florence, central Italy, connecting the Palazzo Vecchio with the Palazzo Pitti. Beginning on the south side of the Palazzo Vecchio, it joins the Uffizi Gallery and leaves on its so ...

is one of the very few structures lining the river that is open to the river and appears to embrace the riverside environment. In Florence, Vasari also designed the long passage, now called Vasari Corridor, which connects the Uffizi with the

Palazzo Pitti The Palazzo Pitti (), in English sometimes called the Pitti Palace, is a vast, mainly Renaissance, palace in Florence, Italy. It is situated on the south side of the River Arno, a short distance from the Ponte Vecchio. The core of the present ...

on the other side of the river. The corridor passes alongside the River Arno on an arcade, crosses the

Ponte Vecchio The Ponte Vecchio (; "Old Bridge") is a medieval stone closed-spandrel segmental arch bridge over the Arno, in Florence, Italy. The only bridge in Florence spared from destruction during World War II, it is noted for the shops built along it; ...

, and winds around the exterior of several buildings. It was once the location of the Mercado de Vecchio. He renovated the medieval churches of

Santa Maria Novella Santa Maria Novella is a church in Florence, Italy, situated opposite, and lending its name to, the city's main railway station. Chronologically, it is the first great basilica in Florence, and is the city's principal Dominican church. The ch ...

and Santa Croce. In both buildings, he removed the original

rood screen The rood screen (also choir screen, chancel screen, or jubé) is a common feature in late medieval church architecture. It is typically an ornate partition between the chancel and nave, of more or less open tracery constructed of wood, stone, o ...

and loft, and remodeled the retro-

choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

s in the Mannerist taste of his time. In Santa Croce, Vasari produced the painting of ''The Adoration of the Magi'' commissioned by

Pope Pius V Pope Pius V, OP (; 17 January 1504 – 1 May 1572), born Antonio Ghislieri (and from 1518 called Michele Ghislieri), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 January 1566 to his death, in May 1572. He was an ...

in 1566 and completed in February 1567. It was restored recently, before being exhibited in 2011 in Rome and Naples. Eventually, it will be returned to the church of Santa Croce in

Bosco Marengo Bosco Marengo (; ) is a town and a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Alessandria in the Italy, Italian region Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about southeast of Alessandria. Bosco Marengo borders the following municipa ...

(

Province of Alessandria The province of Alessandria (; ; in Piedmontese of Alessandria: ''provinsa ëd Lissändria'') is an Italian Provinces of Italy, province, with a population of some 425,000, which forms the southeastern part of the region of Piedmont. The prov ...

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

). In 1562, Vasari built the octagonal dome on the

Basilica of Our Lady of Humility In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...

Pistoia Pistoia (; ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Italian region of Tuscany, the capital of a province of the same name, located about north-west of Florence and is crossed by the Ombrone Pistoiese, a tributary of the River Arno. It is a typic ...

, an important example of

architecture. In Rome, Vasari worked with

Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola ( , , ; 1 October 15077 July 1573), often simply called Vignola, was one of the great Italian architects of 16th century Mannerism. His two great masterpieces are the Villa Farnese at Caprarola and the Jesuits' Chu ...

and

Bartolomeo Ammannati Bartolomeo Ammannati (18 June 1511 – 13 April 1592) was an Italian architect and sculptor, born at Settignano, near Florence, Italy. He studied under Baccio Bandinelli and Jacopo Sansovino (assisting on the design of the Library of St. Mark ...

Pope Julius III Pope Julius III (; ; 10 September 1487 – 23 March 1555), born Giovanni Maria Ciocchi del Monte, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 February 1550 to his death, in March 1555. After a career as a disting ...

Villa Giulia The Villa Giulia is a villa in Rome, Italy. It is named after Pope Julius III, who had it built in 1551–1553 on what was then the edge of the city. Today it is publicly owned, and houses the Museo Nazionale Etrusco, a collection of Etruscan ...

''The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects''

Often called "the first art historian", Vasari invented the genre of the encyclopedia of artistic biographies with his ''Le Vite de' più eccellenti pittori, scultori, ed architettori'' (''Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects''). This work was first published in 1550 and dedicated to Grand Duke

. Vasari introduced the term "Rinascita" (rebirth in Italian) in printed works – although an awareness of an ongoing "rebirth" in the arts had been in the air since the time of Alberti. Vasari's term, applied to the change in artistic styles with the work of Giotto, eventually would become the French term ''Renaissance'' (rebirth) widely applied to the era that followed. Vasari was responsible for the modern use of the term

Gothic art Gothic art was a style of medieval art that developed in Northern France out of Romanesque art in the 12th century, led by the concurrent development of Gothic architecture. It spread to all of Western Europe, and much of Northern Europe, Norther ...

, as well, although he only used the word ''Goth'' in association with the German style that preceded the rebirth, which he identified as "barbaric". The ''Lives'' also included a novel treatise on the technical methods employed in the arts. The book was partly rewritten and extended in 1568, with the addition of woodcut portraits of artists (some conjectural). Vite

The work shows a consistent and notorious bias in favour of Florentines and tends to attribute to them all the developments in Renaissance art – for example, the invention of

engraving Engraving is the practice of incising a design on a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a Burin (engraving), burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or Glass engraving, glass ar ...

. Venetian art in particular (along with arts from other parts of Europe), is ignored systematically in the first edition. Between his first and second editions, Vasari visited Venice and while the second edition gave more attention to Venetian art (finally including

Titian Tiziano Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), Latinized as Titianus, hence known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italian Renaissance painter, the most important artist of Renaissance Venetian painting. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, near Belluno. Ti ...

), it did so without achieving a neutral point of view. Many inaccuracies exist within his ''Lives''. For example, Vasari writes that

Andrea del Castagno Andrea del Castagno () or Andrea di Bartolo di Bargilla (; – 19 August 1457) was an Italian Renaissance painting, Italian Renaissance painter in Florence, influenced chiefly by Masaccio and Giotto, Giotto di Bondone. His works include fresc ...

killed

Domenico Veneziano Domenico Veneziano (c. 1410 – May 15, 1461) was an Italian painter of the early Renaissance, active mostly in Perugia and Tuscany. Little is known of his birth, though he is thought to have been born in Venice, hence his last name. He then move ...

, which is incorrect; Andrea died several years before Domenico. In another example, Vasari's biography of Giovanni Antonio Bazzi, whom he calls "

Il Sodoma Il Sodoma (1477 – 14 February 1549) was the name given to the Italy, Italian Renaissance Painting, painter Giovanni Antonio Bazzi. Il Sodoma painted in a manner that superimposed the High Renaissance style of early 16th-century Rome onto the tr ...

", published only in the second edition of the ''Lives'' (1568) after Bazzi's death, condemns the artist as being immoral, bestial, and vain. Vasari dismisses Bazzi's work as lazy and offensive, despite the artist's having been named a Cavalier of the

Supreme Order of Christ The Supreme Order of Christ () is the highest order of chivalry that can be awarded by the Pope. No appointments have been made since 1987 and following the death in 1993 of the last remaining knight, King Baudouin of Belgium, the order became do ...

Pope Leo X Pope Leo X (; born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, 11 December 14751 December 1521) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 March 1513 to his death in December 1521. Born into the prominent political and banking Med ...

and having received important commissions for the

Villa Farnese The Villa Farnese, also known as Villa Caprarola, is a pentagonal mansion in the town of Caprarola in the province of Viterbo, Northern Lazio, Italy, approximately north-west of Rome, originally commissioned and owned by the House of Farnese. A p ...

and other sites. Vasari's biographies are interspersed with amusing gossip. Many of his anecdotes seem plausible, while others are assumed fictions, such as the tale of young

painting a fly on the surface of a painting by

Cimabue Giovanni Cimabue ( , ; – 1302), Translated with an introduction and notes by J.C. and P Bondanella. Oxford: Oxford University Press (Oxford World's Classics), 1991, pp. 7–14. . also known as Cenni di Pepo or Cenni di Pepi, was an Italian p ...

that supposedly, the older master repeatedly tried to brush away (a genre tale that echoes anecdotes told of the Greek painter

Apelles Apelles of Kos (; ; fl. 4th century BC) was a renowned Painting, painter of ancient Greece. Pliny the Elder, to whom much of modern scholars' knowledge of this artist is owed (''Natural History (Pliny), Naturalis Historia'' 35.36.79–97 and '' ...

). He did carry out research archives for exact dates, as modern art historians do, and his biographies are considered more reliable in the case of his contemporary painters and those of the preceding generation. Modern criticism – with new materials produced by research – has revised many of his dates and facts. Vasari included a short autobiography at the end of the ''Lives'', and added further details about himself and his family in his lives of Lazzaro Vasari and Francesco Salviati. According to the historian Richard Goldthwaite,Richard Goldthwaite, ''The Economy of Renaissance Florence'', 2009, pg. 390. Vasari was one of the earliest authors to use the term "competition" (or "concorrenza" in Italian) in its economic sense. He used it repeatedly, and stressed the concept in his introduction to the life of

Pietro Perugino Pietro Perugino ( ; ; born Pietro Vannucci or Pietro Vanucci; – 1523), an Italian Renaissance painter of the Umbrian school, developed some of the qualities that found classic expression in the High Renaissance. Raphael became his most famou ...

, in explaining the reasons for Florentine artistic preeminence. In Vasari's view, Florentine artists excelled because they were hungry, and they were hungry because their fierce competition amongst themselves for commissions kept them so. Competition, he said, is "one of the nourishments that maintain them".

Gallery

File:Alessandro de Medici Ruestung.jpg, ''Alessandro de Medici resting'' File:Douai chartreuse vasari pieta.jpg, ''Pieta'' File:GIORGIO VASARI, JOANNES STRADANUS THE BIRD CATCHERS.jpg, ''Bird catchers'' File:Vasari, Giorgiodel Sarto, Andrea - Holy Family - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Holy Family'', with Andrea del Sarto File:Giorgio vasari, ultima cena, da ss. annunziata a figline, 1567-69, 04.JPG, ''Last Supper'' File:Giorgio Vasari - Entombment - WGA24277.jpg, ''Entombment'' File:Giorgio Vasari - Temptations of St Jerome - WGA24282.jpg, ''Temptations of St. Jerome'' File:Giorgio Vasari - St Luke Painting the Virgin - WGA24311.jpg, ''St. Luke painting the Virgin'' File:Giorgio Vasari - Annunciation - WGA24286.jpg, ''Annunciation'' File:Giorgio Vasari - Justice - WGA24280.jpg, ''Justice'' File:Giorgio Vasari - The Prophet Elisha - WGA24289.jpg, ''The Prophet Elisha'' File:Dome of Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore (Florence).jpg, Interior of the dome of

File:Giorgio Vasari - Cosimo studies the taking of Siena - Google Art Project.jpg, Cosimo studies the taking of Siena. File:Giorgio Vasari - Apotheosis of Cosimo I - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Apotheosis of
Cosimo I'' File:Giorgio Vasari - Defeat of the Venetians in Casentino - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Defeat of the Venetians in Casentino'' Libro de' Disegni by Giorgio Vasari"> File:Page from "Libro de' Disegni"- 2.jpg, Giorgio Vasari with drawings by

Filippino Lippi Filippino Lippi (probably 1457 – 18 April 1504) was an Italian Renaissance painter mostly working in Florence, Italy during the later years of the Early Renaissance and first few years of the High Renaissance. He also worked in Rome for a ...

Botticelli Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi ( – May 17, 1510), better known as Sandro Botticelli ( ; ) or simply known as Botticelli, was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance. Botticelli's posthumous reputation suffered until the late 1 ...

, and

Raffaellino del Garbo Raffaellino del Garbo (1466–1527) was a Florentine painter of the early Renaissance. Biography His real name was Raffaello di Bartolomeo dei Carli. He was also known as Raffaello Capponi after his adoptive family. The appellation "del Garbo" ...

File:Page from "Libro de' Disegni"- 1.jpg, Giorgio Vasari with drawings by Filippino Lippi, Botticelli, and Raffaellino del Garbo File:Florenz Uffizien.jpg,

colonnade and loggia File:Loge de Vasali a Arezzo.JPG, Loggia of Vasari in

File:005San-Pietro-in-Montorio-Rome.jpg,

San Pietro in Montorio San Pietro in Montorio (English: "Saint Peter on the Golden Mountain") is a church in Rome, Italy, which includes in its courtyard the ''Tempietto'', a small commemorative ''martyrium'' ('martyry') built by Donato Bramante. History The Church o ...

, Rome File:Basílica de la Santa Cruz, Florencia, Italia, 2022-09-18, DD 110.jpg, Tomb of Michelangelo File:Sala dei cento giorni - Giorgio Vasari - 1547 - Palazzo della Cancelleria 1.jpg, Sala dei Cento Giorni - Giorgio Vasari - 1547 -

File:Villa Giulia - Court - Vasari - Vignola.jpg,

- Court - Vasari - Vignola File:Loggia del pesce nel MercatoVecchio, Firenze avanti 1885.jpg, Part of the Loggia del Mercato Vecchio, Florence, just prior to its demolition in the 1880s

Notes

References and sources

References Sources *''The Lives of the Artists''. Oxford University Press, 1998. *''Lives of the Painters, Sculptors and Architects, Volumes I and II''. Everyman's Library, 1996. *''Vasari on Technique''. Dover Publications, 1980. *''Life of Michelangelo''. Alba House, 2003. *

External links

* * * * *
Biography of Vasari and analysis for four major works
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Giorgio Vasari
– The First Art-Historian Copies of Vasari's ''Lives of the Artists'' online:

Site created by Adrienne DeAngelis. Now largely completed in the posting of the ''Lives'', intended to be re-translated to become the unabridged English version.

1550 Unabridged, original Italian.
''Stories Of The Italian Artists From Vasari''
translated by E L Seeley, 1908. Abridged, in English.

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20031008214109/http://easyweb.easynet.co.uk/giorgio.vasari/vaspref.htm Excerpts from the ''Vite'' combined with photos of works mentioned by Vasari. {{DEFAULTSORT:Vasari, Giorgio Italian Mannerist painters Italian Mannerist architects 1511 births 1574 deaths Artist authors Italian biographers Italian art historians Italian art critics Italian Roman Catholics Italian male biographers Painters from Tuscany People from Arezzo Art technological sources Uffizi 16th-century Italian architects 16th-century Italian painters Italian male painters 16th-century Italian writers 16th-century Italian male writers Biographers of artists Architects of Roman Catholic churches Catholic painters 16th-century biographers 16th-century Italian historians