Giorgio Vasari
(July 30, 1511 - June 27, 1574) |
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painting, architect, art historian and critic Art Work
| Name: |
Giorgio Vasari |
| Gender: |
Male |
| Place of Birth: |
Arezzo, Italy |
| Nationality: |
Italian |
| Birth: |
July 30, 1511 |
| Death: |
June 27, 1574 |
| Website: |
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| Past Auctions: |
Click Here |
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Quick Facts
| Known For: |
painting, architect, art historian and critic |
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| Fine Art Profession(s): |
Painting
Architect
Writer |
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Biography
| One of the first art historians, Giorgio Vasari's fame rests on his biographies of famous artists. The first edition of his twovolume work, Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects (1550), provides a general discussion of architecture, painting, and sculpture with biographies of the major artists. The second, expanded edition was published in 1568 and formed the foundation for subsequent art-historical works. Vasari was also an accomplished artist and architect, skillfully overseeing projects, providing conclusive and detailed designs, and directing teams of artists to execute them. He traveled widely, ran a busy workshop, and undertook numerous large-scale commissions, many for the powerful Medicis. Born into a family of artists, Vasari first trained with Luca Signorelli and Guillaume de Marcillat in Arezzo. At sixteen he moved to Florence, where he came into contact with Andrea del Sarto and Baccio Bandinelli. His earliest known painting, the Entombment (c 1532), was completed for Cardinal Ippolito de' Medici, and was well received. He worked chiefly in fresco, executing large-scale schemes, such as the Deeds of St. Paul III (1546), for Alessandro Cardinal Farnese but produced many altarpieces, such as The Descent from the Cross (1540), for the high altar at the church in Camaldoli. His work as an architect is perhaps better known. From 1559 he worked on three large projects: the Palazzo degli Uffizi in Florence; a series of buildings for the Order of the Cavalieri di San Stefano (Order of the Knights of St. Stephen) in Pisa; and the highly complex dome of the church of the Madonna dell'Umilta in Pistoia. From 1555 to 1572 he also worked on the remodeling of the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence as both architect and artist for Cosimo I de'Medici. |
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