Vasari, son of a Tuscan potter, was a pupil of the painter Andrea del Sarto; he notably met the great Michelangelo, who influenced his painting. He works for the Medici, the Farnese... He is known for the speed of his execution. He has great architectural qualities, we owe him the magnificent loggia of the Uffizi, the Corridoio which now unites the Palazzo Vecchio to the Palazzo Pitti in Florence, allowing the Medici to circulate in complete safety, etc. He is also a skilled diplomat and receives the prestigious title of gonfalonier, the highest honor there is. He works in Florence, but also Venice or Naples. But posterity especially remembers from him the remarkable work of analysis of the History of Art, Le Vite de’ più eccellenti architteti, pittori e scultori italiani da Cimabue insino a tempi nostri (The Lives of the Best Painters, Sculptors and Architects ) written between 1550 and 1567. Vasari, retracing the life of the greatest painters, sculptors and architects of his time, plunges us into the heart of the Renaissance and becomes its delicate interpreter. He is considered the first art critic in history.
July 30, 1511 - June 22, 1574
Status
Painter
Architect
Author
Art criticism