Giorgio Vasari

A striking account of Vasaris career, friendships, and contribution to the art of the Italian Renaissance Vasaris Lives of the Most Excellent Architects, Painters, and Sculptors, first published in 1550, fixed for three hundred years general European views about the art of the Renaissance, and its influence still lingers today. While much has been written about Vasaris writings, comparatively few full-length studies have dealt with the man himself. In this book, T.S.R. Boase offers a compelling account of Vasaris life and career. At the same time, Boase explores Vasaris ideas about the art and artists he described in the two editions of his Lives, placing these reflections in their contemporary context and later developments in art history and criticism. The result is an important appraisal of Vasaris achievement, which despite its imperfections is without parallel in the history of Western art.