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    The Collector of Lives: Giorgio Vasari and the Invention of Art
    The Collector of Lives: Giorgio Vasari and the Invention of Art
    The Collector of Lives: Giorgio Vasari and the Invention of Art
    Audiobook14 hours

    The Collector of Lives: Giorgio Vasari and the Invention of Art

    Written by Ingrid Rowland and Noah Charney

    Narrated by Jennifer M. Dixon

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Giorgio Vasari (1511-1574) was a man of many talents-a sculptor, painter, architect, writer, and scholar-but he is best known for Lives of the Artists, which singlehandedly established the canon of Italian Renaissance art. Before Vasari's extraordinary book, art was considered a technical skill, and artists were mere decorators and craftsmen. It was through Vasari's visionary writings that Raphael, Leonardo, and Michelangelo came to be regarded as great masters of life as well as art, their creative genius celebrated as a divine gift.

    Lauded by Sarah Bakewell as "insightful, gripping, and thoroughly enjoyable," The Collector of Lives reveals how one Renaissance scholar completely redefined how we look at art.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHighbridge Company
    Release dateNov 20, 2018
    ISBN9781684416295
    The Collector of Lives: Giorgio Vasari and the Invention of Art

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    Reviews for The Collector of Lives

    4/5

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    • 4/5
      A book about a book. Giorgio Vasari’s, “Lives of the Artists”, is the Ur edition of Italian Renaissance Art History, based in Tuscany, centered in Florence. This reviewer was provided with the audio book read by Jennifer M. Dixon, who articulates the Italian pronunciations crisply and effortlessly.This recounting of the life of author Vasari’s and the subjects of his “Lives of the Artists” contains details and antidotes of interest to art historians, artists, architects and designers - as well as Italophiles. Unfortunately disc five was unplayable so I missed that section of the audio book. The remaining eleven discs provided a detailed education into the lives of Vasari, Leonardo, Michelangelo and many other luminaries and lesser lights of the Italian renaissance art world. Details include background on specific works of art, their patrons including the Medici, Popes and other prominent Italian families.Highly recommended, this work would be a great listen on a road trip. The subject is targeted at the artistically and historically inclined. Very informationally dense so that doing distracting activities while listening is sure to miss out. Best with a good audio system and a robust Tuscan red wine.
    • 5/5
      What a delightful audiobook!Much of the art history was familiar to me, but the story of biographer Giorgio Vasari was not. The authors deliver a lot of historical & biographical detail, but provides reminders along the way so that all those Medici and popes don't run together in the listener's mind. The narrator's voice is pleasant, and her delivery is varied and lively. (I will be seeking out other audiobooks she has read.) She handled the Italian names skillfully, but enunciated carefully enough that I could recognize them from my textbooks years ago.It might be nice if there was a companion booklet in the audiobook's case with small reproductions of the various artists' work, but I very much enjoyed the story without that.Two of the discs (#5 and one other) had flaws so I missed portions of the text.(ObDisc: I received a copy of this book to review.)
    • 4/5
      Ingrid Rowland and Noah Charney’s book “The Collector of Lives” is a fascinating and educational ride through the history of art history, the renaissance, church history and the artists we think of as the foundation of western art. The book chronicles the life of Giorgio Vasari born in Tuscany who lived from 1511 to 1574. Vassari, considered the father of art history, was a sculptor, painter, writer and architect in his own right and lived at the center of art in renaissance Italy (although it was not known as Italy until later.) Vasari is perhaps best known for his book “Lives of the Most Eminent Painters, Sculptors and Architects” which is considered the first book of art history. In fact, the artists we consider foundational to western art are those Vasari chose to include in his writings and our views of western art could have been much different but for Vasari’s promotion of Raphael, Michelangelo and Leonardo. I was amazed that one person writing in the 1500 could have had that much influence on the modern perception of art.As was the custom of the time creators of art such as Vasari were engaged to create works for elite families and the church. Vasari had a long running relationship with Medici family, a military, religious and social force in Florence that included royalty, cardinals, popes and military leaders. Through the elite’s sponsorship of art, they promoted their version of history, publicly demonstrated spiritual devotion as much of the art of the time was religious in nature and created legacy. It was in this context that Vassari came to know most of the leaders of his society, the papacy and its artists. In his engagements by the Medici family and others he came to know intimately the work of the artists of prior generations and his direct peers. It was through this knowledge that he came to write his books while simultaneously completing commissions for painting, sculpture and architecture. Prior to Vasari’s writings practitioners of art were considered craftsmen and were to large degree anonymous. In his books he chronicled in great detail the works of specific artists and told the story of art thereby elevating the creators of art from craftsmen to artists. His work was the beginning of the cult of personality in art and promoted the concept that art flowed from the divine through a particular person.Rowland and Charney’s book brought Vassari and the art of his time from dry abstraction and history to the personal and relevant. I was given an audio version of the book to review which I supplemented with a hard copy of the book from a local library. I recommend a hard copy of the book as it is about 400 pages and you will want to underline and make notes as the quantity of information is significant.
    • 3/5
      While Giorgio Vasari was a sculptor , a painter and an architect, he is primarily known for Lives of Artists, which even 500 years after its initial publication is still regarded as the definitive work on Italian Renaissance Art. This book tells of how he raised up the careers of artists like Raphael, Michelangelo and da Vinci, while ignoring or disparaging others.As a novice to art history, I found all this fascinating. However, this is probably a book I'd rather have in print. As an audio book, all those Italian names and painting techniques at times just rolled into an an incomprehensible string of pleasant, but meaningless sounds.