The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects (Modern Library Classics)

He also edited Vasari’s Florence: Artists and Literati at the Medicean Court. Philip Jacks, a leading scholar of the Italian Renaissance, is Associate Professor of Fine Arts and Art History at George Washington University and the author of several books.

Language Notes Text: English (translation) Original Language: Italian

One of my favorites! Barb This has to be one of the cutest books of all time, provided you love the Renaissance. I try to imagine Vasari speaking some of the lines sometimes and it makes me wonder when the man would have stopped to take a breath. He did take some liberties with some of his stories, as he did not know all of his subjects and got some of the stories second and third hand. But I think this little book is priceless. If you are a Renaissance nut like me, you will love it too.. Not what is pictured It is the same book, but it was a very small version with no cover so that was a little disappointing.. A piece of history Not for everybody but is actually a piece of history. Mine is an older book looking at the color of the pages but the condition was good. I am thrilled to have it in my library

Although he based his work on a long tradition of biographical writing, Vasari infused these literary portraits with a decidedly modern form of critical judgment. A painter and architect in his own right, Giorgio Vasari (1511-74) achieved immortality for this book on the lives of his fellow Renaissance artists, first published in Florence in 1550. The result is a work that remains to this day the cornerstone of art historical scholarship. Spanning the period from the thirteenth century to Vasari’s own time, the Lives opens a window on the greatest personalities of the period, including Giotto, Brunelleschi, Mantegna, Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo, and Titian. This Modern Library edition, abridged from the original text with notes drawn from earlier commentaries, as well as current research, reminds us why The Lives of the Most Excellent