''The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects'' ( it, Le vite de' più eccellenti pittori, scultori, e architettori), often simply known as ''The Lives'' ( it, Le Vite), is a series of artist biographies written by 16th-century Italian painter and architect

Giorgio Vasari Giorgio Vasari (, also , ; 30 July 1511 – 27 June 1574) was an Italian Renaissance Master, who worked as a painter, architect, engineer, writer, and historian, who is best known for his work ''The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculpt ...

, which is considered "perhaps the most famous, and even today the most-read work of the older literature of art",Max Marmor, ''Kunstliteratur''
translated by

Ernst Gombrich Sir Ernst Hans Josef Gombrich (; ; 30 March 1909 – 3 November 2001) was an Austrian-born art historian who, after settling in England in 1936, became a naturalised British citizen in 1947 and spent most of his working life in the United Kin ...

, in Art Documentation Vol 11 # 1, 1992 "some of the

Italian Renaissance The Italian Renaissance ( it, Rinascimento ) was a period in Italian history covering the 15th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Europe and marked the trans ...

's most influential writing on art", and "the first important book on

art history Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...

". Murray, P. and L. Murray. (1963) ''The art of the renaissance''. London: Thames & Hudson (World of Art), p. 8. Vasari published the work in two editions with substantial differences between them; the first edition, two volumes, in 1550 and the second, three volumes, in 1568 (which is the one usually translated and referred to). One important change was the increased attention paid to Venetian art in the second edition, even though Vasari still was, and has ever since been, criticised for an excessive emphasis on the art of his native

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

Background

The writer

Paolo Giovio Paolo Giovio (also spelled ''Paulo Jovio''; Latin: ''Paulus Jovius''; 19 April 1483 – 11 December 1552) was an Italian physician, historian, biographer, and prelate. Early life Little is known about Giovio's youth. He was a native of Com ...

expressed his desire to compose a treatise on contemporary artists at a party in the house of Cardinal Farnese, who asked Vasari to provide Giovio with as much relevant information as possible. Giovio instead yielded the project to Vasari. As the first Italian art historian, Vasari initiated the genre of an encyclopedia of artistic biographies that continues today. Vasari's work was first published in 1550 by

Lorenzo Torrentino Lawrence Torrentinus, also known as Lorenzo Torrentino, Laurentius Torrentinus, Laurens van den Bleeck (1499–1563) was a Dutch-Italian Humanism, humanist and famous typographer and Printer (publisher), printer for Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke ...

, and dedicated to

Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany Cosimo I de' Medici (12 June 1519 – 21 April 1574) was the second Duke of Florence from 1537 until 1569, when he became the first Grand Duke of Tuscany, a title he held until his death. Life Rise to power Cosimo was born in Florence on 12 ...

. It included a valuable treatise on the technical methods employed in the arts. It was partly rewritten and enlarged in 1568 and provided with woodcut

portraits A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this r ...

of artists (some conjectural). The work has a consistent and notorious favour of Florentines and tends to attribute to them all the new developments in

Renaissance art Renaissance art (1350 – 1620 AD) is the painting, sculpture, and decorative arts of the period of European history known as the Renaissance, which emerged as a distinct style in Italy in about AD 1400, in parallel with developments which occ ...

– for example, the invention of

engraving Engraving is the practice of incising a design onto a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a Burin (engraving), burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or Glass engraving, glass ...

. Venetian art in particular, let alone other parts of Europe, is systematically ignored. Between his first and second editions, Vasari visited Venice and the second edition gave more attention to Venetian art (finally including

Titian Tiziano Vecelli or Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italians, Italian (Republic of Venice, Venetian) painter of the Renaissance, considered the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school (art), ...

) without achieving a neutral point of view.

John Symonds John Symonds (12 March 1914, Battersea, London – 21 October 2006) was an English novelist, biographer, playwright and writer of children's books. Biography Early life He was the son of Robert Wemyss Symonds and Lily Sapzells. At the ag ...

claimed in 1899 that, "It is clear that Vasari often wrote with carelessness, confusing dates and places, and taking no pains to verify the truth of his assertions" (in regards to Vasari's life of

Nicola Pisano Nicola Pisano (also called ''Niccolò Pisano'', ''Nicola de Apulia'' or ''Nicola Pisanus''; c. 1220/1225 – c. 1284) was an Italian sculptor whose work is noted for its classical Roman sculptural style. Pisano is sometimes considered to be the ...

), while acknowledging that, despite these shortcomings, it is one of the basic sources for information on the Renaissance in Italy. Vasari's biographies are interspersed with amusing gossip. Many of his anecdotes have the ring of truth, although likely inventions. Others are generic fictions, such as the tale of young

Giotto Giotto di Bondone (; – January 8, 1337), known mononymously as Giotto ( , ) and Latinised as Giottus, was an Italian painter and architect from Florence during the Late Middle Ages. He worked during the Gothic/Proto-Renaissance period. Giot ...

painting a fly on the surface of a painting by

Cimabue Cimabue (; ; – 1302), Translated with an introduction and notes by J.C. and P Bondanella. Oxford: Oxford University Press (Oxford World’s Classics), 1991, pp. 7–14. . also known as Cenni di Pepo or Cenni di Pepi, was an Italian painter a ...

that the older master repeatedly tried to brush away, a genre tale that echoes anecdotes told of the Greek painter

Apelles Apelles of Kos (; grc-gre, Ἀπελλῆς; fl. 4th century BC) was a renowned painter of ancient Greece. Pliny the Elder, to whom much of modern scholars' knowledge of this artist is owed (''Naturalis Historia'' 35.36.79–97 and ''passim'' ...

. He did not research archives for exact dates, as modern art historians do, and naturally his biographies are most dependable for the painters of his own generation and the immediately preceding one. Modern criticism—with all the new materials opened up by research—has corrected many of his traditional dates and attributions. The work is widely considered a classic even today, though it is widely agreed that it must be supplemented by modern scientific research. Vasari includes a forty-two-page sketch of his own biography at the end of his ''Vite'', and adds further details about himself and his family in his lives of Lazzaro Vasari and

Francesco de' Rossi Francesco de' Rossi (1510–11 November 1563) was an Italian Mannerist painter who lived and worked in Florence, with periods in Bologna and Venice, ending with a long period in Rome, where he died. He is known by various names, usually the ad ...

Influence

Vasari's ''Vite'' has been described as "by far the most influential single text for the history of Renaissance art" and "the most important work of Renaissance biography of artists". Its influence is situated mainly in three domains: as an example for contemporary and later biographers and art historians, as a defining factor in the view on the Renaissance and the role of Florence and Rome in it, and as a major source of information on the lives and works of early Renaissance artists from Italy. The ''Vite'' has been

translated Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...

wholly or partially into many languages, including

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, French,

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

Early translations became a model for others

The ''Vite'' formed a model for encyclopedias of artist biographies. Different 17th century translators became artist biographers in their own country of origin and were often called the ''Vasari'' of their country.

Karel Van Mander Karel van Mander (I) or Carel van Mander I (May 1548 – 2 September 1606) was a Flemish painter, poet, art historian and art theoretician, who established himself in the Dutch Republic in the latter part of his life. He is mainly remembe ...

was probably the first Vasarian author with his ''Painting book'' (''Het Schilderboeck'', 1604), which encompassed not only the first Dutch translation of Vasari, but also the first Dutch translation of

Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...

and was accompanied by a list of Italian painters who appeared on the scene after Vasari, and the first comprehensive list of biographies of painters from the

Low Countries The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...

. Similarly,

Joachim von Sandrart Joachim von Sandrart (12 May 1606 – 14 October 1688) was a German Baroque art-historian and painter, active in Amsterdam during the Dutch Golden Age. He is most significant for his collection of biographies of Dutch and German artists the '' T ...

, author of ''Deutsche Akademie'' (1675), became known as the "German Vasari" and Antonio Palomino, author of ''

An account of the lives and works of the most eminent Spanish painters, sculptors and architects ''An account of the lives and works of the most eminent Spanish painters, sculptors and architects'' is a book written by the Spanish painter Antonio Palomino and dedicated to the biographies of the most eminent artists who worked in Spain during ...

'' (1724), became the "Spanish Vasari". In England,

Aglionby Aglionby may be the surname of: * Edward Aglionby (died c. 1591) (1520–c. 1591), MP for Carlisle, and for Warwick, and poet * Edward Aglionby (died 1553), MP for Carlisle * Edward Aglionby (died 1599), MP for Carlisle * Hugh Aglionby, MP *John Ag ...

's ''Painting Illustrated'' from 1685 was largely based on Vasari as well. In Florence the biographies of artists were revised and implemented in the late 17th century by Filippo Baldinucci.

View of the Renaissance

The ''Vite'' is also important as the basis for discussions about the development of style. It influenced the view art historians had of the Early Renaissance for a long time, placing too much emphasis on the achievements of Florentine and Roman artists while ignoring those of the rest of Italy and certainly the artists from the rest of Europe.

Source of information

For centuries, it has been the most important source of information on

Early Renaissance Renaissance art (1350 – 1620 AD) is the painting, sculpture, and decorative arts of the period of European history known as the Renaissance, which emerged as a distinct style in Italy in about AD 1400, in parallel with developments which occ ...

Italian (and especially Tuscan) painters and the attribution of their paintings. In 1899, John Addington Symonds used the ''Vite'' as one of his basic sources for the description of artists in his seven books on the ''Renaissance in Italy'', and nowadays it is still, despite its obvious biases and shortcomings, the basis for the biographies of many artists like

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, Drawing, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially res ...

Contents of the 1568 edition

The ''Vite'' contains the biographies of many important Italian artists, and is also adopted as a sort of classical reference guide for their names, which are sometimes used in different ways. What follows is the complete list of artists appearing the second (1568) edition. In a few cases, different very short biographies were given in one section.

Volumes and parts

The 1568 edition was published in three volumes. Vasari divided the biographies into three parts. Parts I and II are contained in the first volume. Part III is presented in the two other volumes. Vite.jpg, Vol. 1 (= parts I and II) Vasari - Le vite de’ piu eccellenti pittori, scultori, et architettori, 1-2, 1568.djvu, page=1, Vol. 1 (= parts I and II),
title page variant Vasari - Le vite de’ piu eccellenti pittori, scultori, et architettori, 3-1, 1568.djvu, page=5, Vol. 2 (first volume of part III) Vasari - Le vite de’ piu eccellenti pittori, scultori, et architettori (1568).pdf, page=5, Vol. 3 (second volume of part III)

Volume 1

The first volume starts with a dedication to

Cosimo I de' Medici Cosimo I de' Medici (12 June 1519 – 21 April 1574) was the second Duke of Florence from 1537 until 1569, when he became the first Grand Duke of Tuscany, a title he held until his death. Life Rise to power Cosimo was born in Florence on 12 ...

and a preface, and then provides technical and background texts about architecture, sculpture, and painting.Vasari, Giorgio. (1907)
Vasari on technique: being the introduction to the three arts of design, architecture, sculpture and painting, prefixed to the Lives of the most excellent painters, sculptors and architects
'. G. Baldwin Brown Ed. Louisa S. Maclehose Trans. London: Dent. A second preface follows, introducing the actual "Vite". Biographies, first part *

* Arnolfo di Lapo, with Bonanno * Nicola and

Giovanni Pisano Giovanni Pisano (c. 1250 – c. 1315) was an Italian sculptor, painter and architect, who worked in the cities of Pisa, Siena and Pistoia. He is best known for his sculpture which shows the influence of both the French Gothic and the Ancient ...

* Andrea Tafi *

Gaddo Gaddi Gaddo Gaddi (c. 1239, Florence – c. 1312, Florence) was a painter and mosaicist of Florence in a Gothic art style. Almost no works survive. He was the father of Taddeo Gaddi. He completed mosaics on the facade of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rom ...

* Margaritone *

, with

Puccio Capanna Puccio Capanna was an Italian painter of the first half of the 14th century, who lived and worked in Assisi, Umbria, Italy between 1341 and 1347. He is also called ''Puccio Campana''. Capanna was originally a Florentine. Vasari described him as ...

* Agostino and Agnolo *

Stefano Stefano is the Italian form of the masculine given name Στέφανος (Stefanos, Stephen). The name is of Greek origin, Στέφανος, meaning a person who made a significant achievement and has been crowned. In Orthodox Christianity the ac ...

and

Ugolino Ugolino is an Italian masculine given name that is a diminutive form of Ugo. It may also refer to: Artists and musicians * Ugolino di Nerio (1280?–1349), Italian painter active in Siena and Florence * Ugolino di Tedice (died after 1277), Italian ...

Pietro Lorenzetti Pietro Lorenzetti (; – 1348) or Pietro Laurati was an Italian painter, active between c. 1306 and 1345. Together with his younger brother Ambrogio, he introduced naturalism into Sienese art. In their artistry and experiments with three-dimen ...

(Pietro Laurati) *

Andrea Pisano Andrea Pisano (Pontedera 12901348 Orvieto) also known as Andrea da Pontedera, was an Italian sculptor and architect. Biography Pisano first learned the trade of a goldsmith. Pisano then became a pupil of Mino di Giovanni, about 1300, and wor ...

Buonamico Buffalmacco Buonamico di Martino, otherwise known as Buonamico Buffalmacco (active c. 1315–1336), was an Italian Renaissance painter who worked in Florence, Bologna, and Pisa. Although none of his known work has survived, he is widely assumed to be the ...

Ambrogio Lorenzetti Ambrogio Lorenzetti (; – 9 June 1348) or Ambruogio Laurati was an Italian painter of the Sienese school. He was active from approximately 1317 to 1348. He painted '' The Allegory of Good and Bad Government'' in the Sala dei Nove (Salon of Nin ...

(Ambruogio Laurati) *

Pietro Cavallini Pietro Cavallini (1259 – c. 1330) was an Italian painter and mosaic designer working during the late Middle Ages. Biography Little is known about his biography, though it is known he was from Rome, since he signed ''pictor romanus''. His fir ...

Simone Martini Simone Martini ( – 1344) was an Italian painter born in Siena. He was a major figure in the development of early Italian painting and greatly influenced the development of the International Gothic style. It is thought that Martini was a pupil ...

with

Lippo Memmi Lippo Memmi (c. 1291 – 1356) was an Italian painter from Siena. He was the foremost follower of Simone Martini, who was his brother-in-law. Together with Martini, in 1333 he painted what is regarded as one of the masterworks of the Intern ...

Taddeo Gaddi Taddeo Gaddi (c. 1290, in Florence – 1366, in Florence) was a medieval Italy, Italian Painting, painter and architect. He was the son of Gaddo di Zanobi, called Gaddo Gaddi. He was a member of Giotto's workshop from 1313 until the master's d ...

* Andrea Orcagna (Andrea di Cione) * Tommaso Fiorentino (Giottino) * Giovanni da Ponte *

Agnolo Gaddi Agnolo Gaddi (c.1350–1396) was an Italian painter. He was born and died in Florence, and was the son of the painter Taddeo Gaddi,who was himself the major pupil of the Florentine master Giotto. Agnolo was a painter and mosaicist, trained ...

with

Cennino Cennini Cennino d'Andrea Cennini (c. 1360 – before 1427) was an Italian painter influenced by Giotto. He was a student of Agnolo Gaddi in Florence. Gaddi trained under his father, called Taddeo Gaddi, who trained with Giotto. Cennini was born in ...

* Berna Sanese (Barna da Siena) *

Duccio Duccio di Buoninsegna ( , ; – ) was an Italian painter active in Siena, Tuscany, in the late 13th and early 14th century. He was hired throughout his life to complete many important works in government and religious buildings around Italy. Ducc ...

* Antonio Viniziano (Antonio Veneziano) * Jacopo di Casentino *

Spinello Aretino Spinello Aretino (c. 1350 – c. 1410) was an Italian painter from Arezzo, who was active in Tuscany at the end of the 14th and the first decennium of the 15th century.Gherardo Starnina Gherardo Starnina (c. 1360–1413) was an Italian painter from Florence in the Quattrocento era. According to the biographer Giorgio Vasari, Starnina initially trained with Antonio Veneziano, then with Agnolo Gaddi. He is claimed to have part ...

Lippo Lippo Group is an Indonesian multinational conglomerate company. The company operates internationally providing property development and management services. It was founded by Mochtar Riady. Lippo has a collective presence across Asia and Nor ...

* Lorenzo Monaco *

Taddeo Bartoli Taddeo di Bartolo (c. 1363 – 26 August 1422), also known as Taddeo Bartoli, was an Italian painter of the Sienese School during the early Renaissance. He is among the artists profiled in Vasari's biographies of artists or ''Le Vite dell ...

Lorenzo di Bicci Lorenzo di Bicci ( 1350 – 1427) was an Italian painter of the Florentine School considered to be one of the most important painters in Florence during the second half of the 14th century. He is believed to have learned his trade from his fathe ...

with

Bicci di Lorenzo Bicci di Lorenzo (1373–1452) was an Italian painter and sculptor, active in Florence. He was born in Florence in 1373, the son of the painter, Lorenzo di Bicci, whose workshop he joined. He married in 1418, and in 1424 was registered in the G ...

and

Neri di Bicci Neri di Bicci (1419–1491) was an Italian painter active in his native Florence. A prolific painter of mainly religious themes, he studied under his father, Bicci di Lorenzo, who had in turn studied under his father, Lorenzo di Bicci. The thr ...

Biographies, second part *

Jacopo della Quercia Jacopo della Quercia (, ; 20 October 1438), also known as Jacopo di Pietro d'Agnolo di Guarnieri, was an Italian sculptor of the Renaissance, a contemporary of Brunelleschi, Ghiberti and Donatello. He is considered a precursor of Michelangelo ...

* Niccolo Aretino (Niccolò di Piero Lamberti) * Dello (Dello di Niccolò Delli) *

Nanni di Banco Nanni d'Antonio di Banco ( 1384 – 1421) was an Italian Renaissance sculptor from Florence. Early life He was born to artist Antonio di Banco, who worked on the Cathedral of Florence in Florence, Italy. Historians have tried to deter ...

Luca della Robbia Luca della Robbia (, also , ; 1399/1400–1482) was an Italian Renaissance sculptor from Florence. Della Robbia is noted for his colorful, tin-glazed terracotta statuary, a technique which he invented and passed on to his nephew Andrea della ...

with Andrea and

Girolamo della Robbia Girolamo della Robbia (1488 – 4 August 1566) was an Italian Renaissance sculptor, mostly in the family style of glazed terracotta, the youngest son of Andrea della Robbia, together with his brother Giovanni della Robbia were among the mos ...

Paolo Uccello Paolo Uccello ( , ; 1397 – 10 December 1475), born Paolo di Dono, was an Italians, Italian (Florentine) Florentine painting, painter and mathematician who was notable for his pioneering work on visual Perspective (graphical), perspective in art. ...

Lorenzo Ghiberti Lorenzo Ghiberti (, , ; 1378 – 1 December 1455), born Lorenzo di Bartolo, was an Italian Renaissance sculptor from Florence, a key figure in the Early Renaissance, best known as the creator of two sets of bronze doors of the Florence Baptistery ...

with Niccolò di Piero Lamberti *

Masolino da Panicale , death_date = ''c.'' 1447 , death_place = Florence , nationality = Italian , field = Painting, fresco , training = , movement = Italian Renaissance , works = frescoes in the Brancacci Chapel , patrons ...

Parri Spinelli Parri Spinelli ( – 1453) was an Italian ( Tuscan) painter of the early renaissance who was born in the Province of Arezzo. His father and teacher was Spinello Aretino (1350–1410), who was active throughout Tuscany. Parri Spinelli lived i ...

* Masaccio * Filippo Brunelleschi *

Donatello Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi ( – 13 December 1466), better known as Donatello ( ), was a Republic of Florence, Florentine sculptor of the Renaissance period. Born in Republic of Florence, Florence, he studied classical sculpture and use ...

* Michelozzo Michelozzi with

Pagno di Lapo Portigiani Pagno di Lapo Portigiani (1408 — 1470) was an Italian Renaissance decorative sculptor, a minor follower of Donatello who worked on numerous occasions in projects designed and supervised by Michelozzo. Biography Pagno di Lapo was born at Fiesol ...

* Antonio Filarete and Simone (Simone Ghini) *

Giuliano da Maiano Giuliano da Maiano (1432–1490) was an Italian architect, intarsia-worker, and sculptor, the elder brother of Benedetto da Maiano, with whom he often collaborated. Biography He was born in the village of Maiano, near Fiesole, where his fathe ...

Piero della Francesca Piero della Francesca (, also , ; – 12 October 1492), originally named Piero di Benedetto, was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance. To contemporaries he was also known as a mathematician and geometer. Nowadays Piero della Francesca i ...

Fra Angelico Fra Angelico (born Guido di Pietro; February 18, 1455) was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance, described by Vasari in his '' Lives of the Artists'' as having "a rare and perfect talent".Giorgio Vasari, ''Lives of the Artists''. Pengu ...

with

Domenico di Michelino Domenico di Michelino (1417–1491) was an Italian Renaissance painter who was born and died in Florence. His real name was Domenico di Francesco. The patronymic "di Michelino" was adopted in honor of his teacher, the cassone painter Michelino di ...

and Attavante *

Leon Battista Alberti Leon Battista Alberti (; 14 February 1404 – 25 April 1472) was an Italian Renaissance humanist author, artist, architect, poet, priest, linguist, philosopher, and cryptographer; he epitomised the nature of those identified now as polymaths. H ...

* Lazaro Vasari *

Antonello da Messina Antonello da Messina, properly Antonello di Giovanni di Antonio, but also called Antonello degli Antoni and Anglicized as Anthony of Messina ( 1430February 1479), was an Italian painter from Messina, active during the Early Italian Renaissance. ...

Alesso Baldovinetti Alesso or Alessio Baldovinetti (14 October 1427 – 29 August 1499) was an Italian early Renaissance painter and draftsman. Biography Baldovinetti was born in Florence to a rich noble family of merchants. In 1448 he was registered as a member of ...

* Vellano da Padova (Bartolomeo Bellano) *

Fra Filippo Lippi Filippo Lippi ( – 8 October 1469), also known as Lippo Lippi, was an Italian painter of the Quattrocento (15th century) and a Carmelite Priest. Biography Lippi was born in Florence in 1406 to Tommaso, a butcher, and his wife. He was orph ...

with Fra Diamante and

Jacopo del Sellaio Jacopo del Sellaio (1441/42–1493), was an Italian painter of the early Renaissance, active in his native Florence. His real name was Jacopo di Arcangelo. He worked in an eclectic style based on those of Botticelli, Filippino Lippi, and Domenico ...

* Paolo Romano,

Mino del Reame Mino del Reame, also known as Mino dal Reame, was a 15th-century Neapolitan Italian Renaissance sculptor from Naples. History He was active in Rome from about 1460 to 1480. Giorgio Vasari in his '' Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors ...

Chimenti Camicia Chimenti Camicia was an Italian renaissance architect who was born in Florence in 1431. He had his own workshop by 1464. In 1479 he went to work for King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary for whom Camicia designed palaces, gardens, fountains, churches, ...

, and

Baccio Pontelli Baccio Pontelli (c. 1450 – 1492) was an Italian architect, who designed the Sistine Chapel in The Vatican City. Baccio is an abbreviation of Bartolomeo. Pontelli was born in Florence. Passing the phase of artistic formation with Giuliano and ...

Andrea del Castagno Andrea del Castagno () or Andrea di Bartolo di Bargilla (; – 19 August 1457) was an Italian painter from Florence, influenced chiefly by Masaccio and Giotto di Bondone. His works include frescoes in Sant'Apollonia in Florence and the pain ...

and

Domenico Veneziano Domenico Veneziano (c. 1410 – May 15, 1461) was an Italian painter of the early Renaissance, active mostly in Perugia and Tuscany. Little is known of his birth, though he is thought to have been born in Venice, hence his last name. He then moved ...

Gentile da Fabriano Gentile da Fabriano ( – 1427) was an Italian painter known for his participation in the International Gothic painter style. He worked in various places in central Italy, mostly in Tuscany. His best-known works are his ''Adoration of the Magi ...

* Vittore Pisanello * Pesello and

Francesco Pesellino Francesco Pesellino (probably 1422–July 29, 1457), also known as Francesco di Stefano, was an Italian Renaissance painter active in Florence. His father was the painter Stefano di Francesco (died 1427), and his maternal grandfather was the pai ...

Benozzo Gozzoli Benozzo Gozzoli (4 October 1497) was an Italian Renaissance painter from Florence. A pupil of Fra Angelico, Gozzoli is best known for a series of murals in the Magi Chapel of the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi, depicting festive, vibrant processions ...

with

Melozzo da Forlì Melozzo da Forlì (c. 1438 – 8 November 1494) was an Italian Renaissance painter and architect. His fresco paintings are notable for the use of foreshortening. He was the most important member of the Forlì painting school. Biography ...

Francesco di Giorgio Francesco di Giorgio Martini (1439–1501) was an Italian architect, engineer, painter, sculptor, and writer. As a painter, he belonged to the Sienese School. He was considered a visionary architectural theorist—in Nikolaus Pevsner's terms ...

and

Vecchietta Lorenzo di Pietro (1410 – June 6, 1480), known as Vecchietta, was an Italian Sienese School painter, sculptor, goldsmith, and architect of the Renaissance. He is among the artists profiled in Vasari's ''Le Vite delle più eccellenti pittori, ...

(Lorenzo di Pietro) * Galasso Ferrarese with Cosmè Tura * Antonio and

Bernardo Rossellino Bernardo di Matteo del Borra Gamberelli (1409 Settignano – 1464 Florence), better known as Bernardo Rossellino, was an Italian Renaissance sculptor and architect, the elder brother of the sculptor Antonio Rossellino. As a member of the secon ...

Desiderio da Settignano Desiderio da Settignano, real name Desiderio de Bartolomeo di Francesco detto Ferro ( 1428 or 1430 – 1464) was an Italian Renaissance sculptor active in north Italy. Biography He came from a family of stone carvers and stonemasons in Settigna ...

Mino da Fiesole Mino da Fiesole (c. 1429 – July 11, 1484), also known as Mino di Giovanni, was an Italian Renaissance sculptor from Poppi, Tuscany. He is noted for his portrait busts. Career Mino's work was influenced by his master Desiderio da Settignano and ...

Lorenzo Costa Lorenzo Costa (1460 – 5 March 1535) was an Italian painter of the Renaissance. Biography He was born at Ferrara, but moved to Bologna by his early twenties, and was probably influenced by the Bolognese School. However, many artists worked in ...

with

Ludovico Mazzolino Ludovico Mazzolino (1480 – c. 1528) - also known as Mazzolini da Ferrara, Lodovico Ferraresa, and Il Ferrarese - was an Italian Renaissance painter active in Ferrara and Bologna. Biography He was born and died in Ferrara. He appears to have ...

* Ercole Ferrarese *

Jacopo Jacopo (also Iacopo) is a masculine Italian given name, derivant from Latin ''Iacōbus''. It is an Italian variant of Giacomo. * Jacopo Aconcio (), Italian religious reformer * Jacopo Bassano (1592), Italian painter * Iacopo Barsotti (1921–1987 ...

Giovanni Giovanni may refer to: * Giovanni (name), an Italian male given name and surname * Giovanni (meteorology), a Web interface for users to analyze NASA's gridded data * ''Don Giovanni'', a 1787 opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, based on the legend of ...

and

Gentile Bellini Gentile Bellini (c. 1429 – 23 February 1507) was an Italian painter of the school of Venice. He came from Venice's leading family of painters, and at least in the early part of his career was more highly regarded than his younger brother Giovan ...

with Niccolò Rondinelli and

Benedetto Coda Benedetto Coda (c. 1460 - 1535) was an Italian painter of the Renaissance active in Rimini. He is mainly known for his religious subjects. Born in Treviso, Vasari claimed that Coda trained with Giovanni Bellini. He stayed for a brief period in F ...

Cosimo Rosselli Cosimo Rosselli (; 1439–1507) was an Italian painter of the Quattrocento, active mainly in his birthplace of Florence, but also in Pisa earlier in his career and in 1481–82 in the Sistine Chapel in Rome, where he painted some of the large ...

* Il Cecca (Francesco d'Angelo) * Don Bartolomeo Abbate di S. Clemente (Bartolomeo della Gatta) with Matteo Lappoli *

Gherardo di Giovanni del Fora Gherardo di Giovanni di Miniato del Fora (1445–1497), was an Italian painter and illuminator. Biography He was born in Florence as the son of the sculptor Giovanni di Miniato del Fora.Domenico Ghirlandaio with

Benedetto Benedetto is a common Italian name, the equivalent of the English name Benedict. Notable people named Benedetto include: People with the given name * Benedetto Accolti (disambiguation), several people * Benedetto Aloi (1935–2011), American ...

, David Ghirlandaio and Bastiano Mainardi *

Antonio del Pollaiuolo Antonio del Pollaiuolo ( , , ; 17 January 1429/14334 February 1498), also known as Antonio di Jacopo Pollaiuolo or Antonio Pollaiuolo (also spelled Pollaiolo), was an Italian painter, sculptor, engraver, and goldsmith during the Italian Rena ...

and

Piero del Pollaiuolo Piero del Pollaiuolo ( , , ; also spelled Pollaiolo; in Florence – 1496 in Rome), also known as Piero Benci, was an Italian Renaissance painter from Florence. His brother was the artist Antonio del Pollaiuolo and the two frequently worked ...

with

Maso Finiguerra Maso Tommasoii Finiguerra (1426–1464) was an Italian goldsmith, niellist, draftsman, and engraver working in Florence, who was incorrectly described by Giorgio Vasari as the inventor of engraving as a printmaking technique. This made him a c ...

Sandro Botticelli Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi ( – May 17, 1510), known as Sandro Botticelli (, ), was an Italian Renaissance painting, Italian painter of the Early Renaissance. Botticelli's posthumous reputation suffered until the late 19th cent ...

Benedetto da Maiano Benedetto da Maiano (1442 – May 24, 1497) was an Italian Early Renaissance sculptor. Biography Born in the village of Maiano (now part of Fiesole), he started his career as companion of his brother, the architect Giuliano da Maiano. When he ...

Andrea del Verrocchio Andrea del Verrocchio (, , ; – 1488), born Andrea di Michele di Francesco de' Cioni, was a sculptor, Italian painter and goldsmith who was a master of an important workshop in Florence. He apparently became known as ''Verrocchio'' after the su ...

with

and

Santi Buglioni Santi Buglioni, byname of Santi di Michele (1494 - 27 November 1576) was an Italian sculptor, the nephew and collaborator of Benedetto Buglioni. After Luca della Robbia had moved to France to escape the plague, the Buglioni family inherited from ...

Andrea Mantegna Andrea Mantegna (, , ; September 13, 1506) was an Italian painter, a student of Roman archeology, and son-in-law of Jacopo Bellini. Like other artists of the time, Mantegna experimented with perspective, e.g. by lowering the horizon in order ...

* Filippino Lippi * Pinturicchio, Bernardino Pinturicchio with Niccolò Alunno and Gerino da Pistoia * Francesco Francia with Caradosso * Perugino, Pietro Perugino with Rocco Zoppo, Francesco Bacchiacca, Eusebio da San Giorgio and Andrea di Aloigi, Andrea Aloigi (l'Ingegno) * Vittore Carpaccio, Vittore Scarpaccia with Stefano da Verona, Jacopo Avanzi, Altichiero, Jacobello del Fiore, Guariento di Arpo, Giusto de' Menabuoi, Vincenzo Foppa, Vincenzo Catena, Cima da Conegliano, Marco Basaiti, Bartolomeo Vivarini, Giovanni di Niccolò Mansueti, Vittore Belliniano, Bartolomeo Montagna, Benedetto Rusconi, Giovanni Buonconsiglio, Simone Bianco, Tullio Lombardo, Vincenzo Civerchio, Girolamo Romani, Moretto da Brescia, Alessandro Bonvicino (il Moretto), Francesco Bonsignori, Giovanni Francesco Caroto and Francesco Torbido, Francesco Torbido (il Moro) * Jacopo Torni, Iacopo detto l'Indaco (Jacopo Torni) * Luca Signorelli with Tommaso Barnabei, Tommaso Bernabei (il Papacello)

Volume 2

Biographies, third part *

* Giorgione da Castelfranco * Antonio da Correggio * Piero di Cosimo * Donato Bramante (Bramante da Urbino) * Fra Bartolomeo Di San Marco * Mariotto Albertinelli * Raffaellino del Garbo * Pietro Torrigiano (''Torrigiano'') * Giuliano da Sangallo * Antonio da Sangallo the Elder, Antonio da Sangallo * Raffaello Santi, Raphael * Guillaume de Marcillat * Simone del Pollaiolo (''il Cronaca'') * Davide Ghirlandaio and Benedetto Ghirlandaio * Domenico Puligo * Andrea Ferrucci, Andrea da Fiesole * Vincenzo Tamagni, Vincenzo da San Gimignano and Timoteo della Vite, Timoteo da Urbino * Andrea Sansovino (''Andrea dal Monte Sansovino'') * Benedetto Grazzini, Benedetto da Rovezzano * Baccio da Montelupo and Raffaello da Montelupo (father and son) * Lorenzo di Credi * Boccaccio Boccaccino (''Boccaccino Cremonese'') * Lorenzetto * Baldassare Peruzzi * Pellegrino Aretusi, Pellegrino da Modena (Pellegrino Aretusi) * Gianfrancesco Penni, Giovan Francesco, also known as ''il Fattore'' * Andrea del Sarto * Properzia de' Rossi, with suor Plautilla Nelli, Lucrezia Quistelli and Sofonisba Anguissola (the only women to feature in the ''Lives'') * Alfonso Lombardi * Giovanni Angelo Montorsoli, Michele Agnolo (Giovanni Angelo Montorsoli) * Girolamo Santacroce * Dosso Dossi and Battista Dossi (Dossi brothers) * Il Pordenone, Giovanni Antonio Licino * Rosso Fiorentino * Giovanni Antonio Sogliani * Girolamo da Treviso (''Girolamo Da Trevigi'') * Polidoro da Caravaggio and Maturino da Firenze (''Maturino Fiorentino'') * Bartolommeo Ramenghi (''Bartolomeo Da Bagnacavallo'') * Marco Calabrese * Morto Da Feltro * Franciabigio * Francesco Mazzola (Il Parmigianino) * Jacopo Palma (Il Palma) * Lorenzo Lotto * Giovanni Giocondo, Fra Giocondo * Francesco Granacci * Baccio d'Agnolo * Valerio Belli, Valerio Vicentino (Valerio Belli), Giovanni Bernardi, Giovanni da Castel Bolognese (Giovanni Bernardi) and Matteo dal Nasaro Veronese * Marcantonio Raimondi, Marcantonio Bolognese * Antonio da Sangallo the Younger, Antonio da Sangallo * Giulio Romano * Sebastiano del Piombo (Sebastiano Viniziano) * Perin del Vaga, Perino Del Vaga

Volume 3

Biographies, third part (continued) * Domenico Beccafumi * Giovanni Antonio Lappoli, Giovann'Antonio Lappoli * Niccolò Soggi * Niccolò Tribolo, Niccolò detto il Tribolo * Pierino da Vinci * Baccio Bandinelli * Giuliano Bugiardini * Cristofano Gherardi * Jacopo da Pontormo * Simone Mosca * Girolamo Genga, Bartolommeo Genga and Giovanni Battista Belluzzi, Giovanbatista San Marino (Giovanni Battista Belluzzi) * Michele Sanmicheli with Paolo Veronese (Paulino) and Paolo Farinati * Il Sodoma, Giovannantonio detto il Soddoma da Verzelli * Bastiano da Sangallo, Bastiano detto Aristotile da San Gallo * Benvenuto Tisi (il Garofalo), Benedetto Garofalo and Girolamo da Carpi with Bramantino and Bernardino Gatti, Bernardino Gatti (il Soiaro) * Ridolfo Ghirlandaio, Davide Ghirlandaio and Benedetto Ghirlandaio * Giovanni da Udine * Battista Franco with Tintoretto, Jacopo Tintoretto and Andrea Schiavone * Giovanni Francesco Rustici, Francesco Rustichi * Giovanni Angelo Montorsoli, Fra' Giovann'Agnolo Montorsoli * Francesco de' Rossi (Il Salviati), Francesco detto de' Salviati with Giuseppe Porta * Daniele da Volterra, Daniello Ricciarelli da Volterra * Taddeo Zuccari, Taddeo Zucchero with Federico Zuccari * Michelangelo Buonarroti (Michelangelo) with Tiberio Calcagni and Marcello Venusti * Francesco Primaticcio with Giovanni Battista Ramenghi (il Bagnacavallo Jr.), Prospero Fontana, Niccolò dell'Abbate, Domenico del Barbieri, Lorenzo Sabatini, Pellegrino Tibaldi, Luca Longhi, Livio Agresti, Marco Marchetti, Giovanni Boscoli and Bartolomeo Passarotti * Titian, Tiziano da Cadore (Titian) with Jacopo Bassano, Giovanni Maria Verdizotti, Jan van Calcar (Giovanni fiammingo) and Paris Bordon * Jacopo Sansovino with Andrea Palladio, Alessandro Vittoria, Bartolomeo Ammannati and Danese Cattaneo * Leone Leoni, Lione Aretino (Leone Leoni) with Guglielmo Della Porta and Galeazzo Alessi * Giulio Clovio, illuminated manuscript, manuscript illuminator * Various Italian artists: Girolamo Siciolante da Sermoneta, Marcello Venusti, Iacopino del Conte, Dono Doni, Cesare Nebbia and Niccolò Circignani, Niccolò Circignani detto il Pomarancio * Bronzino *

Editions

There have been numerous editions and translations of the ''Lives'' over the years. Many have been abridgements due to the great length of the original. The first English-language translation by Eliza Foster (as "Mrs. Jonathan Foster") was published by Henry George Bohn in 1850-51, with careful and abundant annotations. According to professor Patricia Rubin of New York University, "her translation of Vasari brought the ''Lives'' to a wide English-language readership for the first time. Its very real value in doing so is proven by the fact that it remained in print and in demand through the nineteenth century." Patricia Rubin, “Eliza Foster (dates unknown)”, ''Interdisciplinary Studies in the Long Nineteenth Century'' 2019 (28). doi: https://doi.org/10.16995/ntn.864 The most recent new English translation is by Peter Bondanella, Peter and Julia Conaway Bondanella, published in the Oxford World's Classics series in 1991.Vasari, G. ''The Lives of the Artists''. Translated with an introduction and notes by J.C. and Peter Bondanella. Oxford: Oxford University Press (Oxford World’s Classics), 1991.

Versions online

Italian
1550 edition
Progetto Manuzio (PDF)

Selections drawn from a 1768 reprint
1568 edition, Vol. 1
in the Internet Archive (biographies from Cimabue to Signorelli)
1568 edition, Vol. 2
in the Internet Archive (biographies from Leonardo to Perino del Vaga)
1568 edition, Vol. 3
in the Internet Archive (biographies from Beccafumi to Vasari) English

Website created by Adrienne DeAngelis. Currently incomplete, intended to be unabridged
''Stories Of The Italian Artists From Vasari''
Translated by E. L. Seeley, 1908, abridged

References

Sources

External links

* *
Free English translation of the work divided into ten ebooks at Project Gutenberg

Original Italian version
from 1568 on archive.org *
Excerpts from the ''Vite'' combined with photos of works mentioned by Vasari.
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, And Architects Giorgio Vasari 1550 books 1568 books Biographies about artists Italian books Compilations of biographies about artists, Vasari Art history books Architecture books

Background

Influence

Early translations became a model for others

View of the Renaissance

Source of information

Contents of the 1568 edition

Volumes and parts

Volume 1

Volume 2

Volume 3

Editions

Versions online

See also

References

Sources

External links