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GIORGIO VASARI (1511-1574) The first art historian
An eclectic and prolific artist, Giorgio Vasari is best known as the world’s first art historian. Born in Arezzo on 30 July 1511, into a family of modest cloth merchants, the young Vasari attended workshops of several artists in the city, from whom he learned notions of painting and architecture and acquired a humanistic education. He traveled to Florence to study under Andrea del Sarto, and came in contact with Cardinal Silvio Passerini, a great patron who recommended him to the powerful Medici family. However, his promising career was abruptly interrupted upon the death of his father in 1527. Merely 16 years old, Vassari took on the role of family provider, for his mother and four younger brothers. It was a difficult period for Vasari who, in order to make a living, devoted himself entirely to painting and worked tirelessly to produce altarpieces for the churches of Arezzo and the surrounding area. With the money he earned, he was able to build a beautiful house in Arezzo (now the Vasari Museum). Unhappily though, he suffered from a deep melancholy and went to reside in a hermitage in nearby Camaldoli, painting for the monks while searching for serenity in nature. In 1538, having secured financial stability for his family, and with his health restored, Vasari could now left modest Arezzo in search of more ambitious projects. Return to Medici’s Florence For the next 15 years Vasari traveled throughout Italy and gained a reputation as a painter while expanding his knowledge
THE HOLY FAMILY WITH THE INFANT, SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST, AND SAINT ELIZABETH
from the circle of Giorgio Vasari, oil on panel, 16th century
