\b0 Painter, architect and writer from Florence, Vasari at first based his work
on very early mannerism and the models of Raphael and Michelangelo. In the 1540s, in Rome, Vasari frequented a circle of writers who met under the patronage of Cardinal Alessandro Farnese (1468-1549), who became Pope Paul III in 1534. In Florence for Co
simo I deÆ Medici (1519-1574), Vasari designed and built the Uffizi Gallery and a large number of other commissions, including the renovation of the Palazzo Vecchio. He had many assistants in his great enterprises. So many, indeed, that a Vasari school w
as to grow up in Florence. Ingenious and magnificent in his works of decorative art in Florence, Vasari distinguished himself in particular for his architectural creations. Yet, he is probably best remembered for his \i Le Vite deÆ pi∙ eccellenti archite
tti, scultori e pittori\i0 (\i Lives of the Most Excellent Architects, Sculptors and Painters\i0 ), which he wrote before 1550 and then updated in 1568. This literary work offers the first history of Italian art from Cimabue to VasariÆs contemporaries w
ith particular regard given to Michelangelo, who, for Vasari, represented the once for all time zenith of Italian art. The \i Lives\i0 is appreciated for the breadth of its historical approach, the quality of its interpretation of art works, for the var
iety and novelty of the artistic terminology and the abundance of documentation. \par
