The Lives of Artists

 

Vasari, Giorgio (1511-1574) - Self Portrait Flickr

Originating in Italy, the Renaissance was an era of great prosperity. As trade flourished and wealth increased, commissions illustrating the families newfound wealth became common. These commissions opened doors for many artists, especially in Florence. Not only did the techniques and style of art in the Renaissance mark a great turning point but, also in the status of artists.

From the Renaissance emerged the Baroque period, which aimed to create works that were theatrical, released from restraint and full of emotion. Artists usually directed by guilds and patrons on what to create began to find their own voice and the idea of a non-conformist, learned and unique artist began to take hold.

Giorgio Vasari further elevated these statuses with the publication of his collected artist biographies in The Lives of the Artists. First published in 1550, The Lives of the Artists is perhaps one of the most important texts that came out of the Renaissance. It is through his writings that we get a background to great Renaissance masterpieces and a full analysis of not only the artwork, but also the men behind them.  

 Instead of being an outside commenter, Vasari was deeply entrenched in the art world. Not only was Vasari close friends with some of the great masters such as Michelangelo, but he himself was an architect, designing the loggia of the Palazzo Pitti and restoring the churches of Santa Maria Novella and Santa Croce. Vasari praised the many attributes of an artist saying that one must not be only capable in the arts but in other areas such as math and science, thereby institutionalizing the image of an artist as a ‘genius.’

Using accounts from artists he knew first hand as those he knew of, Vasari has composed a book that is truly invaluable.