In writing his, Lives, Vasari revealed a literary talent that matched, or even outshone, his abilities as an artist and architect.
Vasari's original vision of the arts, in which he sees the artist as divinely inspired, permeates this second volume as much as the first. Although at times inaccurate (prompting some dry remarks from Michelangelo), the Lives have a striking immediacy conveyed in the character sketches, anecdotes and detailed recordings of conversations.
Michelangelo praised the work for endowing artists with immortality. Vasari's shrewd judgements and his precise pinpointing of the emotions aroused by individual works of art bear out his prediction that Vasari would have a worldwide influence on the history of art. In this selection George Bull includes the lives of Perugino, Piero di Cosimo and Sansovino.
Twenty-five artists, including Perugino, Sansovino, Veneziano and Giovanni Pisano.
Introduction
The Lives:
Part One
Nicola and Giovanni Pisano
Duccio di Buoninsegna
Part Two
Luca della Robbia
Michelozzo Michelozzi
Andrea del Castagno and Domenico Veneziano
Jacopo, Giovanni, and Gentile Bellini
Antonio and Piero Pollaiuolo
Part Three
Piero di Cosimo
Fra Bartolommeo of San Marco
Andrea del Sarto
Giovanni Battista Rosso
Francesco Mazzuoli (Parmigianino)
Jacopo Palma and Lorenzo Lotto
Giulio Romano
Jacopo Pontormo
Francesco Salviati
Jacopo Sansovino
Notes on the Artists
Further Reading
Overview
In writing his, Lives, Vasari revealed a literary talent that matched, or even outshone, his abilities as an artist and architect.
Vasari's original vision of the arts, in which he sees the artist as divinely inspired, permeates this second volume as much as the first. Although at times inaccurate (prompting some dry remarks from Michelangelo), the Lives ...