Vasari Renaissance

The renaissance, first recognized as rinascimento by Vasari, was a time of great creativity and invention in the world of art. Running from roughly the beginning of the 15th century to 1564, the renaissance knew many incredible artists that we know by name today, and others that helped develop the beauty of art that are less well known. From Cimabue and Giotto to Donatello and Michelangelo, this period was namely occurring in Florence with the perfect climate for an eruption of imaginative art and architecture. Many of the most famous pieces of art originated in the renaissance and Vasari being a wonderful writer compiled many of these artists in his Lives of the Artists and we will explore other writers and artists to answer what criteria …show more content…
Though these men were incredible artists, we can’t lose sight of their humanity. Many of the great pieces of art we know today originated by the illustrious artists in Florence during the renaissance. The Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci, the statue of David by Michelangelo Buonarotti and the Santa Maria del Fiore designed by Filippo Brunelleschi, are all examples of truly masterful invention that occurred during the renaissance. Vasari, quite intelligently, writes on the artists in a developmental fashion. For the most part he does not follow a distinct chronology of the artist but rather describes how the artist contributed to the overall improvement of design. He makes carful note of presenting these great artists as human with great skill and talent but still human and he does so by sharing anecdotes and small witty stories that bring the artists to life. In the beginning he talks of Cimabue, and much like the artists that followed him he is a keen observer and imitator of nature, a trait that is essential for a great artist of the renaissance. When looking at Cimabue’s art it is somewhat awkward with heavy striations and an italo-byzantine design. In his life Vasari describes him as a great man who starts to reintroduce the …show more content…
He talks about how the skill they possess is given by God and the work they are fulfilling is through God. With some this idea is more prevalent than others such as Vasari’s description of Michelangelo. The term disegno correlates somewhat with the idea that the artist is divine. They are able to think up a creative thought and through their skill reproduce the thought as a design. The idea that the artist is divine is also well exemplified by the life of Fra Angelico. His art “seemed to have come from the hand of a saint or angel”, thus he was referred to as Brother Giovanni Angelico, which means angelic brother John . His artwork was quite good with adept foreshortening and detailed structures surrounding the lifelike (though somewhat byzantine style) humans. Art aside Vasari talks about the artists in his book as a celestial and nearly divine beings that are doing work through God. Vasari’s ultimate goal is establishing an academy for artists, while building his ethos as a writer