Giorgio Vasari - A Florentine Mannerist Star of Italian Renaissance
Italian Renaissance writer, painter, and architect Giorgio Vasari was born on July 30, 1511, in Arezzo, Tuscany.
He is very famous for his book Vite de' più eccellenti architetti, pittori, et scultori Italiani (Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, 1550-68) in which he compiled the lives of famous artists and is also considered as the founder of art-historical writing.
He joined the Italian Stained Glass painter Guglielmo da Marsiglia (1475-1537) as a pupil, at an early age.
When Vasari was sixteen years old, Cardinal Silvio Passerini (1469-1529), a Renaissance Art patron, sent him to Florence.
There, he soon was in the company of great Italian artists, like Andrea del Sarto (1486-1531), Rosso Fiorentino (1494-1540), and Jacopo Pontormo (1494-1557).
Vasari was an ardent admirer of Michelangelo (1475-1564) and his work highly influenced the artist.
After the death of his father, Giorgio had to take care of the family.
During the same period, he started practicing architecture.
With his decent earnings as an architect, he managed to get his sisters married.
Vasari was more successful as an architect than as a painter.
He designed Villa di Papa Giulio in Rome (1550-55) with the Italian architects Vignola (1507-73) and Ammanati (1511-92).
By 1529, Vasari was a Mannerist artist of high repute and had been able to make a fortune for himself.
In 1547, he built himself a beautiful house in Arezzo, which is now a museum of his works.
Uffizi Palace, Florence (1560-81) was one of his important independent works.
The tomb of Michelangelo in Santa Croce (1560), Palazzo dei Cavalieri at Pisa (1558), and the Loggie in Arezzo are few of his other important renovation architectural works.
On being encouraged by the Bishop of Nocera, Vasari planned to write a book on the lives of famous artists to enlighten people about them.
The first edition of his collection of writing appeared in 1550.
In 1555, Vasari returned to Florence to work for Duke Cosimo (1519-74, reined: 1537-74).
There, he was appointed as the architect of the Palazzo Vecchio.
When in Florence, Vasari did a lot of work for the Medici family and they constantly employed him.
He painted 'The Lord's Supper' in the cathedral of Arezzo.
His work on the ceilings and walls of the great Sala di Cosimo I of the Palazzo Vecchio (1555-63) in Florence is still a spectacle for art lovers from all over the world.
He founded the Accademia del Disegno in 1563.
At the same time, he worked on the second edition of his book.
One of his important works was the frescoes in the cupola of the Duomo (1572-74), which he could not complete for certain reasons and Italian Mannerist painters Federico Zuccari (1543-1609) & Giovanni Balducci (1560-1600) finished it later.
Pope Pius bestowed him with the knighthood in 1571.
Giorgio Vasari died on June 27, 1574, in Florence.
He is very famous for his book Vite de' più eccellenti architetti, pittori, et scultori Italiani (Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, 1550-68) in which he compiled the lives of famous artists and is also considered as the founder of art-historical writing.
He joined the Italian Stained Glass painter Guglielmo da Marsiglia (1475-1537) as a pupil, at an early age.
When Vasari was sixteen years old, Cardinal Silvio Passerini (1469-1529), a Renaissance Art patron, sent him to Florence.
There, he soon was in the company of great Italian artists, like Andrea del Sarto (1486-1531), Rosso Fiorentino (1494-1540), and Jacopo Pontormo (1494-1557).
Vasari was an ardent admirer of Michelangelo (1475-1564) and his work highly influenced the artist.
After the death of his father, Giorgio had to take care of the family.
During the same period, he started practicing architecture.
With his decent earnings as an architect, he managed to get his sisters married.
Vasari was more successful as an architect than as a painter.
He designed Villa di Papa Giulio in Rome (1550-55) with the Italian architects Vignola (1507-73) and Ammanati (1511-92).
By 1529, Vasari was a Mannerist artist of high repute and had been able to make a fortune for himself.
In 1547, he built himself a beautiful house in Arezzo, which is now a museum of his works.
Uffizi Palace, Florence (1560-81) was one of his important independent works.
The tomb of Michelangelo in Santa Croce (1560), Palazzo dei Cavalieri at Pisa (1558), and the Loggie in Arezzo are few of his other important renovation architectural works.
On being encouraged by the Bishop of Nocera, Vasari planned to write a book on the lives of famous artists to enlighten people about them.
The first edition of his collection of writing appeared in 1550.
In 1555, Vasari returned to Florence to work for Duke Cosimo (1519-74, reined: 1537-74).
There, he was appointed as the architect of the Palazzo Vecchio.
When in Florence, Vasari did a lot of work for the Medici family and they constantly employed him.
He painted 'The Lord's Supper' in the cathedral of Arezzo.
His work on the ceilings and walls of the great Sala di Cosimo I of the Palazzo Vecchio (1555-63) in Florence is still a spectacle for art lovers from all over the world.
He founded the Accademia del Disegno in 1563.
At the same time, he worked on the second edition of his book.
One of his important works was the frescoes in the cupola of the Duomo (1572-74), which he could not complete for certain reasons and Italian Mannerist painters Federico Zuccari (1543-1609) & Giovanni Balducci (1560-1600) finished it later.
Pope Pius bestowed him with the knighthood in 1571.
Giorgio Vasari died on June 27, 1574, in Florence.