Lives of the Artists

Giorgio Vasari's Lives of the Most Eminent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects is a foundational work in art history. Published in 1550 and expanded in 1568, it provides biographies of Italian Renaissance artists, establishing a narrative of artistic development. Vasari, himself a painter and architect, divided art history into three periods: antiquity, a decline during the Dark Ages, and a renaissance beginning in the 14th century with artists like Cimabue and Giotto, culminating in Michelangelo.

Vasari's writing style is anecdotal and engaging, though he sometimes embellished facts. His work, despite a bias towards Tuscan artists, is considered the first major example of modern historiography. He established the canon of Italian Renaissance artists, which remains influential today, and his developmental trajectory of art history continues to shape popular perceptions of Western painting.12