1511-1574
Painter, Architect, And Art Historian

A Life of Art. Giorgio Vasari was born in 1511 in Arezzo, Italy, into a family of tradesmen. He studied in Florence briefly with Michelangelo in 1524 and subsequently trained with Andrea del Sarto. He returned to Florence to work for Duke Cosimo I de' Medici in 1555 and assisted in the foundation of the new art academy, the Academia del Disegno, in 1563. The duke commissioned the architectural design for the Uffizi in 1560 as a building to house all the civic offices, guilds, and Medici court artists Vasari and his pupils also furnished paintings for the studiolo of Francesco I de' Medici Located in the Palazzo Vecchio, it was dedicated to the scientific interests of Cosimo's son and successor Vasari is best known for his Vite de'piu eccelenti architetti, pittorted scultoi italiani (Lives of the Most Eminent Painters, Sculptors, and Artists) published in...