Giorgio Vasari - one of the forefathers of art history

Arezzo (Italy) - He was a contemporary of Michelangelo and wrote one of his first biographies. The Italian painter, architect, and art historian Giorgio Vasari worked at the Medici court in Florence and became famous as the author of grandly conceived biographies of Italian artists from the early Renaissance to mannerism. Vasari, born 500 years ago, on July 30, 1511, is consequently regarded as one of the pioneers of art history.
     His work titled Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects was first published in 1550. It can be said that even after centuries, it remains an important source for understanding the artistic production of the Renaissance, as well as a distinctive and readable literary piece. Thanks to Vasari, we today know specific details about the personal lives of such art giants as Michelangelo Buonarroti, Leonardo da Vinci, Raffael Santi, Titian, Sandro Botticelli, and Donatello.
     The book was a sort of first attempt at systematic art history and its interpretation. For instance, Vasari introduced the term "Gothic," which had a derogatory meaning for him: as an admirer of ancient aesthetics, he viewed the medieval artistic style as something perverse, barbaric, and disordered. The term "mannerism" also originated with Vasari, referring to the style of painting of the great masters, but later the word acquired a pejorative connotation denoting lack of originality and artificiality.
     In writing the "lives," the author relied (not uncritically) on the notes of his predecessors, guide literature, chronicles, and his own notes made during his study trips. According to him, the foundation of art was drawing - painting, sculpture, and architecture are like its daughters. Vasari was one of the first to begin collecting drawings. After his death, the collection was sold off, and only the Florentine gallery Uffizi and the Paris Louvre can boast larger parts of it.
     Interestingly, it was also Vasari who first suggested the hypothesis that the famous da Vinci Mona Lisa is a depiction of Lisa Gherardini, the third wife of the Florentine silk merchant Francesco del Gioconda. "The eyes have a sparkle, the mouth seems to be made not of colors, but of flesh, and when one looks closely, one can see the pulse in the throat," Vasari expressed his admiration for the painting. The peculiar smile of the woman was supposedly due to the musicians and jesters who entertained her during the portrait sitting.
     Architecturally, the native of Tuscan Arezzo was mainly active in Florence, where his main work stands - the Uffizi palace with one of the largest collections of Italian and European painting. He also participated in roofing the famous Ponte Vecchio so that the nobility could comfortably cross between their palaces with dry feet. Vasari is also the author of the fresco decoration in the interiors of the Florentine town hall Palazzo Vecchio and frescoes in the Vatican. His buildings can be found in Pisa and Arezzo.
     The artist died on June 27, 1574, in Florence at the age of 62.