LE VITE DE' PIU ECCELLENTI PITTORI, SCULTORI, E ARCHITETTORI [Part Three, Volume One]

Fiorenza [Florence]: Appresso i Giunti, 1568. Revised, Expanded and Illustrated version. Other. Large Octavo, 370 pages. In Good Plus condition. Spine vellum with handwritten ink lettering, split horizontally but still attached at rear hinge. Fully bound in vellum, binding fragile with strings exposed along spine exterior and interior hinges. Ink writing to front board, mostly illegible. Vellum soiling and tone consistent with age. Textblock laid paper. Front endpaper loosening. Ink annotations throughout, including additions to the table of contents. Illustrated with woodcut portraits. RW consignment. Shelved case 3. Artist and architect Giorgio Vasari (1511-1574) is often referred to as the first art historian, at least in the western tradition of "Great Man" historical framing. First published in 1550, then extended in 1568, his Le Vite de' più eccellenti pittori, scultori, e architettori (Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects) was the first encyclopedia of artistic biographies.




Vasari was extremely biased towards the Florentine art tradition, and many historical inaccuracies exist within his work; though the book's biographies are interspersed with gossip and anecdotes which readers may find entertaining.




This work is arguably the most influential writing on art to come out of the Italian Renaissance, and most translations are based on this 1568 edition.

OCLC record:1048327696. PMM 88. 1403838. Shelved Dupont Bookstore.