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Vasari

Giorgio Vasari (1511–1574) was an Italian painter, architect, and writer who helped found the discipline of art history. Born in Arezzo, he moved to Florence to study with Domenico Ghirlandaio and established himself as a painter before turning to architectural design and court patronage for the Medici.

In architecture he contributed to Florentine projects for the Medici, most notably the design of the Uffizi

Vasari is best known for his Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects (Le Vite),

He died in Florence in 1574. Vasari’s contributions—early art-historical methodology, integrated architecture for Medici patronage, and

building
and
the
Vasari
Corridor,
a
passage
extending
from
the
Palazzo
Vecchio
to
the
Palazzo
Pitti
that
spans
the
Arno.
His
architectural
work
reflects
late
Renaissance
and
early
Mannerist
aesthetics.
first
published
in
1550
and
expanded
in
1568.
The
Lives
offered
a
continuous
narrative
of
artists
from
Cimabue
to
Michelangelo
and
Titian,
framed
as
a
history
of
artistic
progress
and
genius.
The
work
popularized
a
canon
of
great
artists
and
established
the
model
of
biographical
criticism,
but
it
also
reflected
Vasari’s
patronage
and
bias
and
contains
errors
and
anecdotal
legend.
his
biographical
corpus—made
a
lasting
impact
on
how
art
and
architects
are
studied,
and
he
is
widely
regarded
as
the
founder
of
art
history.