Giorgio Vasari
Self-portrait, from 1571 until 1574
Painter, architect, writer, art historian, collector. A popular and entertaining personality whose patrons – an inveterate gossip – were said to have enjoyed his storytelling ability as much as his art. He is most famous for his volumes of biography, Lives of the Artists (1550; reprinted and extended in 1568), which was dedicated to Cosimo de Medici. Despite inconsistencies, errors, and an overwhelming bias in favor of Michelangelo, it remains an important source for students of Renaissance art.
Giorgio Vasari’s major works are Paul III Directing the Continuence of St. Peter’s, 1544 (Rome: Palazzo della Cancelleria); Uffizi offices (finished by others), 1560–80 (Florence); The Prophet Elisha, c. 1566 (Florence: Galleria degli Uffizi); The Attack on the Porta Camolia at Siena, 1570 (Florence: Museo Ragazzi).
References:
- Robert Cumming. Art: complete encyclopedia. – 512 p. – Moscow: Astrel, 2005.
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