Giorgio Vasari
Giorgio Vasari arrived into the world prematurely on the 30th of July 1511 in Arezzo, Tuscany. His early years were marked by a recommendation from his cousin Luca Signorelli. This connection led him to study under Guglielmo da Marsiglia, a skilled painter of stained glass. At age sixteen, Cardinal Silvio Passerini sent him to Florence for further education. There he joined the circle of Andrea del Sarto and his pupils Rosso Fiorentino and Jacopo Pontormo. Humanist learning flourished within this group while Vasari befriended Michelangelo. The painting style of Michelangelo would deeply influence Vasari's own artistic development.
In 1547 Vasari completed frescoes in the hall of the chancery at Palazzo della Cancelleria in Rome. These works received the name Sala dei Cento Giorni. He regularly worked for members of the Medici family across both Florence and Rome. His most significant paintings remain on the wall and ceiling of the Sala di Cosimo I inside the Palazzo Vecchio. He and his assistants labored there starting in 1555. Vasari also helped organize the decoration of the Studiolo which now stands reassembled in the same palace. In Rome he painted frescos in the Sala Regia. His final major commission began in 1572 as a vast Last Judgement fresco on the cupola of the Florence Cathedral. He started this work with assistance from the Bolognese painter Lorenzo Sabatini. It remained unfinished when Vasari died and was later completed by Federico Zuccari.
Vasari designed the loggia of the Palazzo degli Uffizi along the banks of the Arno river. This structure opens up the vista at the far end of its long narrow courtyard. It functions as a public piazza while serving as a unique Renaissance street with unified architectural treatment. The view from the Arno reveals that the Vasari Corridor is one of very few structures lining the river open to the water. This corridor connects the Uffizi with the Palazzo Pitti on the opposite side of the river. It passes alongside the River Arno on an arcade before crossing the Ponte Vecchio. The path winds around the exterior of several buildings where it once held the Mercado de Vecchio. He renovated medieval churches including Santa Maria Novella and Santa Croce. In both locations he removed original rood screens and lofts. He remodeled retro-choirs in the Mannerist taste of his time. In 1562 Vasari built an octagonal dome on the Basilica of Our Lady of Humility in Pistoia.
The work first appeared in print during 1550 and was dedicated to Grand Duke Cosimo I de' Medici. Vasari invented the genre of encyclopedia for artistic biographies with this publication. He introduced the term Rinascita meaning rebirth within these printed works. His concept applied to the change in artistic styles following the work of Giotto. Later historians adopted the French term Renaissance to describe the era that followed. Vasari also became responsible for modern usage of the phrase Gothic art. He used the word Goth only when associating it with German style preceding the rebirth. He identified that earlier period as barbaric. The book included a novel treatise on technical methods employed in the arts. It underwent partial rewriting and extension in 1568 with added woodcut portraits of artists. Many inaccuracies exist within the text regarding dates and facts about deceased painters. Modern criticism has revised many of his specific claims using new research materials.
Vasari served effectively as minister of culture to the Medici court in Florence. He helped found the Florentine Accademia e Compagnia delle Arti del Disegno in 1563. Grand Duke Cosimo I de' Medici and Michelangelo acted as capi of the institution. Thirty-six artists were chosen as members of this new academy. He married Niccolosa Bacci from one of the richest families of Arezzo. He amassed considerable fortune during his lifetime while enjoying high repute. The Pope made him Knight of the Golden Spur. He was elected to the municipal council of his native town. He rose to the supreme office of gonfaloniere. His role allowed him to promote ideas of Florentine superiority in visual arts through his writings. This political rise gave him significant influence over cultural production in Tuscany.
Modern critics note that Vasari included many factual errors especially when covering artists born before he lived. He wrote that Andrea del Castagno killed Domenico Veneziano which is incorrect since Andrea died years earlier. His biography of Giovanni Antonio Bazzi condemned the artist as immoral despite receiving important commissions. Vasari dismissed Bazzi's work as lazy and offensive even though the artist held a papal title. Many anecdotes seem plausible while others are assumed fictions like the tale of young Giotto painting a fly on Cimabue's surface. He did carry out research archives for exact dates similar to modern art historians. Biographies remain more reliable regarding contemporary painters and those of the preceding generation. Historian Richard Goldthwaite noted Vasari used competition in its economic sense repeatedly. He stressed this concept in explaining reasons for Florentine artistic preeminence among peers.
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Common questions
When and where was Giorgio Vasari born?
Giorgio Vasari arrived into the world prematurely on the 30th of July 1511 in Arezzo, Tuscany. His early years were marked by a recommendation from his cousin Luca Signorelli.
What major frescoes did Giorgio Vasari complete in Rome during 1547?
In 1547 Vasari completed frescoes in the hall of the chancery at Palazzo della Cancelleria in Rome known as Sala dei Cento Giorni. He also painted frescos in the Sala Regia while working for members of the Medici family across both Florence and Rome.
How did Giorgio Vasari influence the term Renaissance?
Vasari invented the genre of encyclopedia for artistic biographies with this publication and introduced the term Rinascita meaning rebirth within these printed works. Later historians adopted the French term Renaissance to describe the era that followed his concept applied to the change in artistic styles following the work of Giotto.
Which architectural structures did Giorgio Vasari design along the Arno river?
Vasari designed the loggia of the Palazzo degli Uffizi along the banks of the Arno river which functions as a public piazza. The Vasari Corridor connects the Uffizi with the Palazzo Pitti on the opposite side of the river passing alongside the River Arno on an arcade before crossing the Ponte Vecchio.
When was the Florentine Accademia e Compagnia delle Arti del Disegno founded by Giorgio Vasari?
He helped found the Florentine Accademia e Compagnia delle Arti del Disegno in 1563. Grand Duke Cosimo I de' Medici and Michelangelo acted as capi of the institution while thirty-six artists were chosen as members of this new academy.