Rebirth and Giorgio Vasari

Giorgio Vasari first started to study with the Medici brothers, Ippolito and Alessandro. Whom was assassinated later in 1537, which led Vasari to becoming good friends with Rosso Fiorentino and  Francesco Salviati. Eventually, Vasari finished his first edition of Lives in 1550.  Vasari’s major architectural projects included the construction of the Arno River linking the government offices of the Uffizi and Grand Dukes residence in the Palazzo Pitti. The few books he began to write didn’t have real referneces. Nonetheless, Giorgio Vasari practically invented the structure of art history. Vasari’s followed three stages, the first marking “rebirth” to the art of classical civilization and innovatived stylistic discoveries of Cimabue and Giotto. The second stage had a much more sophisticated design and perspective. This stage increased artistic skill and involved rules to paintings, sculpture, and architecture. This intermediate step was used by artists, such as: of Ghiberti, Brunelleschi, Donatello, and Masaccio The final stage was used by artists Leonardo, Raphael, and Michelangelo. Vasari’s documented and argued so persuasively that it’s remained a dominant view in Italian renaissance art ever since.

Giorgio Vasari