The Lives of the Artists Volume 1 [Paperback]

Giorgio Vasari (Author), George Bull (Translator, Introduction)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0140445005 | ISBN-13: 978-0140445008 | Publication Date: March 1, 1988

Beginning with Cimabue and Giotto in the thirteenth century, Vasari traces the development of Italian art across three centuries to the golden epoch of Leonardo and Michelangelo. Great men, and their immortal works, are brought vividly to life, as Vasari depicts the young Giotto scratching his first drawings on stone; Donatello gazing at Brunelleschi's crucifix; and, Michelangelo's painstaking work on the Sistine Chapel, harassed by the impatient Pope Julius II. The Lives also convey much about Vasari himself and his outstanding abilities as a critic inspired by his passion for art.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English, Italian (translation) --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

About the Author

Giorgio Vasari (1511-74) was an accomplished painter and architect, but it is for his illuminating biographies that he is best remembered. George Bull translated widely from the Italian, including for Penguin Classics including Cellini's 'Autobiography' and Machiavelli's 'The Prince'. He is also the author of a number of books on the Renaissance.

Product Details

• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Classics (March 1, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140445005
• ISBN-13: 978-0140445008
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #54,426 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #19 in Books > Arts & Photography > Schools, Periods & Styles > Renaissance
  • #41 in Books > History > Europe > Italy

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Extremely readable, contemporary account of his peers, July 6, 1999

By 

John L Haynes - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lives of the Artists Volume 2 (Paperback)

Vasari was a life-long correspondent of Michaelangelo, a contemporary of Leonardo, etc., so the accounts are written about his friends and comnpetitors, not 100+ years later, thru the prism of time. Yet this translation is in readable, 20th Century English.

The chapters on Brunelleschi, Donato, etc. are lively, entertaining as well as instructive. MUST reading for anyone going to Italy, or to see works of the Florentine artists.

(N.B. I am an engineer who never had a fine arts class, ever!)

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Giorgio Vasari - Lives of the Artists Volume One, June 24, 2008

By 

Ayla M. Amon - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Lives of the Artists Volume 1 (Paperback)

A good introduction to Medieval, Renaissance, and Mannerist artists written by someone who lived around their time and had actual contact with some of the artists, as well as personal painting experience. He is, however, colored by his personal relationships with the artists, hyperbolic, and constrained by the Zeitgeist of the era. In exploring the relationships of artist and patron he is able to shed light on their social situation and the constant struggle of the elevation of the art of painting among the liberal arts. In English, some of the grandeur of his writing is lost, and it lacks the poetic ease of the Italian original. If you want a fuller version, I suggest (especially for bilingual speakers) a translation with the Italian original on the other side of the page.

5.0 out of 5 stars Lives of the Artists by Vasari, October 4, 2011

By 

S. Scott "Art Lover" (California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Lives of the Artists Volume 1 (Paperback)

Printed originally in Italian in the mid-sixteenth century, this book is considered not only the first history of art but also the first to put into words the process of growth and rebirth that characterized the Renaissance. Vasari writes about artists who were, for the most part, his contemporaries. He knew of their work and their lives, if not first-hand then by reputation or by association. The little stories he weaves into their lives give insight into each artist's personality. Though Vasari does try to make them all fit the mold of the Renaissance man, he shows us the chinks in the facade.