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Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors and Architects (Annotated)

Enriched Edition. Renaissance Artist Biographies and the Origins of Italian Art HistoryBy Giorgio Vasari

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Length96h 46m

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Giorgio Vasari's Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors and Architects is the foundational text of art history, tracing Italian art from Cimabue and Giotto to the triumphs of Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo, and Vasari's own contemporaries. Combining biography, criticism, anecdote, and historical narrative, it presents artistic progress as a purposeful ascent toward technical mastery and ideal beauty. Its elegant, partisan, and often vivid prose places Renaissance achievement within a grand cultural genealogy. Vasari, himself a painter, architect, courtier, and tireless organizer of artistic memory, wrote from within the Florentine and Medicean milieu that shaped his judgments. His proximity to workshops, patrons, and surviving oral traditions gave him extraordinary access, even as his Tuscan loyalties and reverence for Michelangelo colored the narrative. The book reflects both personal experience and a broader humanist desire to dignify the visual arts as intellectual pursuits. This work is indispensable for readers interested in Renaissance culture, the origins of art criticism, or the making of artistic reputation. Though not always impartial, it remains compelling, richly informative, and historically transformative: a book to be read both for what it records and for how it invented the very language of artistic greatness. This enriched edition has been carefully crafted to add value to your reading experience. - A comprehensive Introduction outlines these selected works' unifying features, themes, or stylistic evolutions. - The Author Biography highlights personal milestones and literary influences that shape the entire body of writing. - A Historical Context section situates the works in their broader era—social currents, cultural trends, and key events that underpin their creation. - A concise Synopsis (Selection) offers an accessible overview of the included texts, helping readers navigate plotlines and main ideas without revealing critical twists. - A unified Analysis examines recurring motifs and stylistic hallmarks across the collection, tying the stories together while spotlighting the different work's strengths. - Reflection questions inspire deeper contemplation of the author's overarching message, inviting readers to draw connections among different texts and relate them to modern contexts. - Lastly, our hand‐picked Memorable Quotes distill pivotal lines and turning points, serving as touchstones for the collection's central themes.

Journey Exploration Political Intrigue Identity

Audiobook details

GenreOther

Length96 hrs 46 mins

Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices

FormateBook with Audio

Publish dateDec 21, 2023

LanguageEnglish

1Introduction

103Piero Di Cosimo

2Introduction

104Bramante Da Urbino

3Synopsis

105Fra Bartolommeo Di San Marco

4Historical Context

106Mariotto Albertinelli

5Author Biography

107Raffaellino Del Garbo

Show all chapters

6Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors and Architects

108Torrigiano

7Translator’s Preface to this Edition

109Giuliano and Antonio Da San Gallo

8To the Most Illustrious and Most Excellent Signor Cosimo De’ Medici, Duke of Florence

110Raffaello Da Urbino

9To the Most Illustrious and Most Excellent Signor Cosimo De’ Medici, Duke of Florence and Siena

111Guglielmo Da Marcilla

10Pius Papa Quintus (Pope Pius V)

112Simone

11Preface to the Whole Work

113Domenico Puligo

12Preface to the Lives

114Andrea Da Fiesole

13Concerning the Lives of the Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, who have Lived from Cimabue to the Present Day. Written by Messer Giorgio Vasari, Painter of Arezzo

115Vincenzio Da San Gimignano and Timoteo Da Urbino

14Giovanni Cimabue

116Andrea Dal Monte Sansovino

15Arnolfo Di Lapo

117Benedetto Da Rovezzano

16Niccola and Giovanni of Pisa

118Baccio Da Montelupo and Raffaello, his Son

17Andrea Tafi

119Lorenzo Di Credi

18Gaddo Gaddi

120Lorenzetto and Boccaccino

19Margaritone

121Baldassarre Peruzzi

20Giotto

122Giovan Francesco Penni of Florence and Pellegrino Da Modena

21Agostino and Agnolo of Siena

123Andrea Del Sarto

22Stefano and Ugolino Sanese

124Madonna Properzia De’ Rossi

23Pietro Laurati

125Alfonso Lombardi of Ferrara, Michelagnolo Da Siena, Girolamo Santa Croce of Naples, Dosso and Battista Dossi

24Andrea Pisano

126Giovanni Antonio Licinio of Pordenone, and Other Painters of Friuli

25Buonamico Buffalmacco

127Giovanni Antonio Sogliani

26Ambrogio Lorenzetti

128Girolamo Da Treviso

27Pietro Cavallini

129Polidoro Da Caravaggio and Maturino

28Simone Sanese

130Il Rosso

29Taddeo Gaddi

131Bartolommeo Da Bagnacavallo and Others

30Andrea Di Cione Orcagna

132Franciabigio

31Tommaso, Called Giottino

133Morto Da Feltro and Andrea Di Cosimo Feltrini

32Giovanni Dal Ponte

134Marco Calavrese

33Agnolo Gaddi

135Francesco Mazzuoli

34Berna

136Jacopo Palma and Lorenzo Lotto

35Duccio

137Fra Giocondo, Liberale, and Other Craftsmen of Verona

36Antonio Viniziano

138Francesco Granacci (Il Granaccio)

37Jacopo Di Casentino

139Baccio D’ Agnolo

38Spinello Aretino

140Valerio Vicentino, Giovanni Da Castel Bolognese, Matteo Dal Nassaro of Verona, and Other Excellent Engravers of Cameos and Gems

39Gherardo Starnina

141Marc’ Antonio Bolognese and Other Engravers of Prints

40Lippo

142Antonio Da San Gallo (The Younger)

41Don Lorenzo Monaco

143Giulio Romano

42Taddeo Bartoli

144Fra Sebastiano Viniziano Del Piombo

43Lorenzo Di Bicci

145Perino Del Vaga

44The Second Part of the Lives of the Sculptors, Painters, and Architects, Who have Lived From Cimabue to Our Own Day. Written by Messer Giorgio Vasari, Painter and Architect of Arezzo

146Giorgio Vasari to the Craftsmen in Design

45Preface to the Second Part

147Domenico Beccafumi

46Jacopo Della Quercia

148Giovanni Antonio Lappoli

47Niccolò Aretino

149Niccolò Soggi

48Dello

150Niccolò, Called Tribolo

49Nanni d’Antonio Di Banco

151Pierino (Piero) Da Vinci

50Luca Della Robbia

152Baccio Bandinelli

51Paolo Uccello

153Giuliano Bugiardini

52Lorenzo Ghiberti

154Cristofano Gherardi, Called Doceno

53Masolino Da Panicale

155Jacopo Da Pontormo

54Parri Spinelli

156Simone Mosca

55Masaccio

157Girolamo and Bartolommeo Genga, and Giovan Battista San Marino, Son-in-law of Girolamo

56Filippo Brunelleschi

158Michele San Michele

57Donato

159Giovanni Antonio Bazzi, Called Il Sodoma

58Michelozzo Michelozzi

160Bastiano Da San Gallo, Called Aristotile

59Antonio Filarete and Simone

161Benvenuto Garofalo and Girolamo Da Carpi, and Other Lombards

60Giuliano Da Maiano

162Ridolfo, David, and Benedetto Ghirlandajo

61Piero Della Francesca

163Giovanni Da Udine

62Fra Giovanni Da Fiesole

164Battista Franco

63Leon Batista Alberti

165Giovan Francesco Rustici

64Lazzaro Vasari

166Fra Giovanni Agnolo Montorsoli

65Antonello Da Messina

167Francesco Salviati

66Alesso Baldovinetti

168Daniello Ricciarelli

67Vellano Da Padova

169Taddeo Zucchero

68Fra Filippo Lippi

170Michelagnolo Buonarroti (pt. 1)

69Paolo Romano, Maestro Mino, and Chimenti Camicia

171Michelagnolo Buonarroti (pt. 2)

70Andrea Dal Castagno of Mugello and Domenico Viniziano

172Michelagnolo Buonarroti (pt. 3)

71Gentile Da Fabriano and Vittore Pisanello of Verona

173Francesco Primaticcio

72Pesello and Francesco Peselli

174Tiziano Da Cadore

73Benozzo Gozzoli

175Jacopo Sansovino

74Francesco Di Giorgio and Lorenzo Vecchietto

176Leone Lioni of Arezzo

75Galasso Ferrarese

177Don Giulio Clovio

76Antonio and Bernardo Rossellino

178Divers Italian Craftsmen

77Desiderio Da Settignano

179Divers Flemings

78Mino Da Fiesole

180Of the Academicians of Design, Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, and of their Works, and First of Bronzino

79Lorenzo Costa

181Of the Academicians Description of the Festive Preparations for the Nuptials of the Prince Don Francesco of Tuscany

80Ercole Ferrarese

182Of the Entrance to Borg’ Ognissanti.

81Jacopo, Giovanni, and Gentile Bellini

183Of the Ponte alla Carraia.

82Cosimo Rosselli

184Of the Palazzo degli Spini.

83Cecca

185Of the Column.

84Don Bartolommeo Della Gatta

186Of the Canto de’ Tornaquinci.

85Gherardo

187Of the Canto de’ Carnesecchi.

86Domenico Ghirlandajo

188Of S. Maria del Fiore.

87Antonio and Piero Pollaiuolo

189Of the Horse.

88Sandro Botticelli

190Of the Borgo de’ Greci.

89Benedetto Da Maiano

191Of the Arch of the Dogana[508].

90Andrea Verrocchio

192Of the Piazza, and of the Neptune.

91Andrea Mantegna

193Of the Door of the Palace.

92Filippo Lippi

194Of the Court of the Palace.

93Bernardino Pinturicchio

195Of the Hall, and of the Comedy.

94Francesco Francia

196Of the Triumph of Dreams and Other Festivities.

95Pietro Perugino

197Of the Castle.

96Vittore Scarpaccia (Carpaccio), And Other Venetian and Lombard Painters

198The Genealogy of the Gods.

97Jacopo, Called L’Indaco

199Giorgio Vasari

98Luca Signorelli of Cortona

200The Author to the Craftsmen of Design

99The Third Part of the Lives of the Sculptors, Painters, and Architects, who have Lived from Cimabue to Our Own Day. Written by Messer Giorgio Vasari, Painter and Architect of Arezzo

201Analysis

100Leonardo Da Vinci

202Reflection

101Giorgione Da Castelfranco

203Memorable Quotes

102Antonio Da Correggio