Deb Martin -- Giorgio Vasari

     1. Why is this person important?

During the Italian Renaissance, Giorgio Vasari wrote the first art history book, entitled Lives of the Most Eminent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects. He also used the word ‘rinascita’ (meaning rebirth) to describe art during his time, which later became known as the Renaissance.

      2. Why did you choose this person? How does her/his life relate to you?

I choose Vasari because I’m an art history minor, and I appreciate that he was the first to study art and artists in a historical context. Everyone knows famous Italian Renaissance artists, so I wanted to call attention to the art historical side of that time period.

       3. If she/he had never existed, would the world be different from how we know it now? Why?

If he hadn’t existed, we wouldn’t know as much as we do about Renaissance artists and their lives. Vasari’s contemporaries might not have learned as much about their peers, and might not have been influenced by them. The study of art history would have started at a later date, and the Renaissance would not have been recorded within its invention.

4. If you could meet that person, what would you ask her/him?

If I could meet him, I would ask him to describe what it was like living in such a rich time period. I would love to know personal stories about the artists that he wrote about. He was a friend of Michelangelo! I would also ask him what inspired him to write about artists in the first place.

5. Do you think the fact this person was Italian played a role in his/her achievement?

I think being Italian was a huge part of his success. If he had not been alive in Italy during the Renaissance, I doubt he would have been as influenced by art. He was surrounded by a lot of other great minds and artists, and I’m so glad he chose to write about it.