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The Lives of the Artists (Oxford World's Classics) | 
 enlarge | Author: Giorgio Vasari
Creators: Julia Conway Bondanella, Peter Bondanella
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Category: Book
List Price: $12.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  20 reviews
Sales Rank: 40043
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 616
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5 x 1.3
ISBN: 019283410X
Dewey Decimal Number: 709.22
EAN: 9780192834102
ASIN: 019283410X
Publication Date: July 16, 1998
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Product Description
These biographies of the great quattrocento artists have long been considered among the most important of contemporary sources on Italian Renaissance art. Vasari, who invented the term "Renaissance," was the first to outline the influential theory of Renaissance art that traces a progression through Giotto, Brunelleschi, and finally the titanic figures of Michaelangelo, Da Vinci, and Raphael. This new translation, specially commissioned for the World's Classics series, contains thirty-six of the most important lives and is fully annotated.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 15 more reviews...
 Giorgio Vasari - Lives of the Artists Volume One June 24, 2008
A good introduction to Medieval, Renaissance, and Mannerist artists written by someone who lived around their time and had actual contact with some of the artists, as well as personal painting experience. He is, however, colored by his personal relationships with the artists, hyperbolic, and constrained by the Zeitgeist of the era. In exploring the relationships of artist and patron he is able to shed light on their social situation and the constant struggle of the elevation of the art of painting among the liberal arts. In English, some of the grandeur of his writing is lost, and it lacks the poetic ease of the Italian original. If you want a fuller version, I suggest (especially for bilingual speakers) a translation with the Italian original on the other side of the page.
 The Pillars of Art October 19, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
No artist, or aspiring artist, should go without this book. While it is sometimes exhausting to read through the author's detailed coverage of the works of each featured artist, it should be considered mandatory reading for artists and art historians -- so that all can see the pillars of art on which civilization is built. The author covers both the works and the private lives of the artists, although I would have personally prefered more emphasis on the personal lives. It would also be very nice to have pictures of the specific works in each bio, so I guess that might be a future book purchase here at Amazon(!) -- a visual reference to Renaissance Art. In spite of those two drawbacks, I highly recommend the purchase of this book.
Outstanding!!!! October 11, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
My daughter took Art History and loved this book. She kept it and insisted I buy her a copy so her teacher could have the new ones.
A must for any art historian March 8, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This book was a text for a grad school seminar I had. After nearly 500 years, Vasari remains the best "eyewitness" to the lives and works of his contemporary artists. Although he does take some liberties, such as trying to fit many artists into the traditional hero mold of child prodigy/discovered by master/quickly surpasses master, he also gives us a glimpse into the glorious time that shaped so many artistic geniuses.
Works and lives of great masters by their contemporary August 6, 2006
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
"Do you admire a beautiful tower resounding with sacred sound?
By my design this tower also reached for the stars.
But I am Giotto, why cite such deeds?
My name alone is worth a lengthy ode."
[From the Live of Giotto di Bondone]
Classic masterpiece containing selection of lives of famous Italian masters of art, written by their (almost) conterporary. This work is tedious and difficult to read at times (Vasari is describing at length all importatnt works of old masters). But still, this account is valuable for particular details about techniques used by old masters or condidtions under which their masterpieces were created... Kind regards, Mario.
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