Lives of the Artists - Couverture souple

Vasari, Giorgio

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 0140445005 ISBN 13 : 9780140445008

Editeur : Penguin Classics, 2006

Synopsis

479 pages.

A propos du livre

Revue de presse :

Vasari's biographies of Italian artists of the Early Renaissance to the Mannerist period need no introduction. A cornerstone of scholarship and of art history itself, Vasari's Lives provided an enduring blend of anecdote and analysis. For artists and those who have an interest in art history, an audio book of Vasari's Lives of the Artists can be recommended. Listening re-acquaints us with Vasari's questionable judgments (that Roman sculpture exceeded that of the Greeks, that the glory of Florence outshone all other cities and so forth) as well as famous stories: Cimabue discovering Giotto, Uccello being called from his perspective studies by his wife, Parmigianino being diverted by alchemy, Fra Bartolommeo dying of a surfeit of figs... It is difficult to discern whether Vasari's judgments hold up or whether he is so influential (and such an essential source of information) that we still look at the Italian masters through his eyes. The book being unillustrated, it lends itself to audio adaptation. Neville Jason reads his abridgement of the A.B. Hinds 1900 translation with a suitable mixture of formality and liveliness. The pronunciation is excellent. Covering hundreds of artists and architects the book demands abridgement, so only 39 artists are included. Most of the greats are here: Giotto, Masaccio, Leonardo, Raphael and Durer. Vasari himself is also selected. The Venetians are given short shrift by Vasari Tintoretto gets a scant 3 minutes dictated by the author's thesis that Florentine disegno trumps Venetian colore. Tracks are between 3 and 12 minutes long, some artists getting multiple tracks. Michelangelo dominates, with over an hour. This recording is an ideal gift or treat; and it makes a good studio companion. --- The Jackdaw

Présentation de l'éditeur :

Beginning with Cimabue and Giotto in the thirteenth century, Vasari traces the development of Italian art across three centuries to the golden epoch of Leonardo and Michelangelo. Great men, and their immortal works, are brought vividly to life, as Vasari depicts the young Giotto scratching his first drawings on stone; Donatello gazing at Brunelleschi's crucifix; and Michelangelo's painstaking work on the Sistine Chapel, harassed by the impatient Pope Julius II. The Lives also convey much about Vasari himself and his outstanding abilities as a critic inspired by his passion for art.

À propos de cette édition

• Éditeur: Penguin Classics
• Date d'édition: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0140445005
• ISBN 13: 9780140445008
• Reliure: Broché
• Nombre de pages: 480