500 years ago in the small Tuscan town of Arezzo it was born Giorgio Vasari - author of the famous "Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects." This book is destined to live long, and perhaps eternal life, because until mankind will live, it will remain one of the main sources of information on prominent figures of the Renaissance. It should be noted that it was Vasari who coined the term "Renaissance" ("Rinascita").
This book, probably, was the first work in the history of art criticism. Vasari identified the main features of the then known artistic styles and used the method of stylistic analysis, laying the foundations of art as a science. Moreover, he suggested in this book a periodization of this era as follows: Protorenaissance (Protorenessansa), early Renaissance and High Renaissance. He could not define the period of late Renaissance period because he lived at the time and could not foresee the further course of cultural development, and therefore - and when and what the outcome of this glorious period in the history of Europe.
The first edition of Vasari’s book was published in 1550 in Florence. It was contained 133 biographies of artists - from the Protorenaissance famous painter Giovanni Cimabue to the Vasari’s teacher Michelangelo Buonarroti. The second edition was printed after 18 years, after substantial transformation and significant additions. This second (1568 year) edition was the basis for future reprints and translations to our time. It contained already 161 biographies of prominent figures of the Renaissance from its beginning up to the author's contemporaries. To the biographies there were added a theoretical treatise "Introduction to the three arts of drawing, namely architecture, painting and sculpture" and several articles.
However, the value of labor Vasari is not so much in the theoretical considerations. The most interesting are the biographies of his great contemporaries and predecessors, descriptions of their works and stories about the circumstances (sometimes very complicated or convoluted) of their creation. The book was written with a vivid language of that time.
But they are interesting not only as evidence of the formation and development of fine arts in the territory of medieval Italy for several centuries, but also as an extremely informative sources in the history of technology and applied science, no matter how paradoxical it may seem to the reader that statement. The fact that the design, construction and decoration of houses in those days were done by the same persons - the people who owned many professions. They were both architects and artists, and artisans and mechanics, and inventors. The sign of the era was the link between the artistic creativity and technical activities. Furthermore, the profession of an artist was considered one of the craft and its representatives were no different from other professional groups. Like everyone else, they were organized in a guild structure with relevant statutes and the chain of command. Sometimes they did not have their own guilds and entered another. For example, in some cities, architects and sculptors were in the guild of house painters, and the painters - in the guild of pharmacists, because they produced paints themselves.
No wonder that Vasari could not, and did not try to get around this side of the creativity of their heroes. Actually, he could not do otherwise: engineering activity has been an integral part of their lives, and sometimes - the main.
Thus, among the biographies, placed in the "Lives ...", there is a story about Leon Battista Alberti (1404 - 1472), the Florentine architect, geometer and mathematic, the inventor of the camera obscura, the author of the ten classic treatise "On Architecture", which was summarizes all known then the West practice of building and theoretically grounded principles that time architecture.
Another outstanding book character - Filippo Brunelleschi (1377 - 1446) was an outstanding Italian architect, engineer and sculptor, the author of several architectural gems, pleasing sight of people and serve them up to now. Brunelleschi was the builder of the Dome of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence - an outstanding engineering structure of the time (the inner diameter of the dome is 42 meters, the height from the floor of the Cathedral is 114.36 meters). During its construction Brunelleschi had to decide a number of technical challenges with which he performed admirably. In his book, Giorgio Vasari described the circumstances of the construction of the dome: a competition among artists from different territories to carry out this order; the project development; the smallest features of its design and construction technology; even the use of the special lift. This mechanism was designed by Brunelleschi to lift the loads using a counterweight and wheels that were turned by the one ox instead of six pairs.
Between the heroes of "Lives of ..." there were not only painters, architects and sculptors. One of them was the Florentine engineer Francesca D'Angelo Cecha (1447-1488), who served numerous orders to strengthen the Tuscan cities. It is an interesting story about the description of the almost forgotten art of the Renaissance - special presentation of religious festivals and processions, very popular in medieval European cities. Cecha was the acknowledged master of such things, so in the book it has been described in detail his mechanical devices, "enlivened" figures of saints and even allows you to "play" with their participation simple scenes. Interestingly, these "clouds" (as defined by Vasari) could be not only fixed, but also those which could by carried out by a solemn procession participants.
And, of course, it is the story of an outstanding figure of the Renaissance, the brilliant artist, engineer, scientist, musician, art theorist and writer Leonardo da Vinci (1459 - 1519) - "Amazing and Heavenly Man," as Vasari called him. In preparing this biography, he enjoyed the stories and testimonials of people who were personally acquainted with the great master, so the text is replete with precious details that eventually would have certainly lost without a trace. From it we learn that Leonardo in childhood had mastered the principles of the count on the abacus (an early precursor of the computer). The interest in science and technology he acquired in the workshop of his master Andrea del Verrocchio. At that time, as Vasari wrote, he "painted machines driving by the force of the water ", later" made daily models and drawings to show how easy it is to take down the mountain to dig them from one valley to another, how to use the levers and screws cranes to lift and carry very heavy things ... ".
Of course, Giorgio Vasari did not forget to include in the book his own biography. He has a right for this: Vasari was the author of the architectural ensemble of the Uffizi Gallery (world famous museum in Florence), a covered walkway from the Palazzo Pitti in the Palazzo Vecchio, which ran almost half of what was then Florence (known to tourists as the Vasari Corridor), churches Santo Fiore e Lucilla in his home town of Arezzo. He carried out a huge amount of orders as a painter, though his fame in this area was not as significant. He left some interesting examples of decorative art. However, the most significant work of Vasari is, nevertheless, probably, "Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects." Undoubtedly, the success, or rather, a very high literary and scientific quality of this work have been identified not only talent, but also life experiences of its author, so it's worth taking a quick touch of his biography.
Giorgio Vasari (1511 - 1574) was born in a family of artisan potter, here, by the way, and his surname ("vasa" Italian - vessel). Artisans were his grandfather and great-grandfather. The respect and interest Vasari in practice and professional knowledge were from the traditions of the family work. And yet - a colloquial style, bright folk speech of his literary works. He early lost his father. Vasari was forced to take the care of the three sisters and two brothers. It was prompted him to seek gainful employment. For a while he was studying in Florence jewelry, studied painting at the then-known artist Rosso and even, according to him, Michelangelo. Seventeen years old Vasari attracted the attention of Cardinal Ippolito de 'Medici, and since forever associated himself with the well-known for its wealth and influence Tuscan family, which played a very important role in the life of medieval Italy, gave several rulers of Florence, and in the end, turned this city-state into the republic for seniors. In 1563, he became the founder of the Florence Academy of drawing. He finished the court career the Knight of the Order of St. Peter's, a wealthy landowner and landlord. And yet he was the outstanding architect, historian, art theorist and writer - the author of a great book.
1. The title page of the first edition of "Lives ..." D. Vasari
2. Vasari Corridor in Florence, built in 1565