Le Vite de' piu eccellenti Pittori, Scultori et Architettori, Scritte, & di Nuovo Ampliate da M. Giorgio Vasari Pit. et Archit. Aretino. Co' ritratti loro et con le nuove vite dal 1550 insino al 1567 by VASARI, Giorgio

Firenze, Bernardo Giunta, 1568. Format : 3 volumes in-4. Collation : (65), 529, (1) / (40), 370, (2) / (84), pp. 371-1012, (4) pp. Reliure : Vélin. (Reliure du XVIIIe.). Seconde édition, la première illustrée et la plus complète. Elle contient un portrait de Vasari et 144 portraits d'artistes en médaillon. Il s'agit de l'édition définitive, revue et augmentée de plusieurs vies d'artiste, notamment des vénitiens, absents de la première édition de 1550. "Les vies des meilleurs peintres, sculpteurs et architectes" est l'ouvrage fondateur de l'Histoire de l'art. Il contient les biographies de peintres italiens du treizième au seizième siècle. Elles sont basées sur des sources écrites et orales, sur sa connaissance des oeuvres d'art et sur sa propre collection de dessins. Vasari a beaucoup voyagé pour recueillir des informations, rencontrant la plupart des artistes de son temps. Bien qu'il ait adopté l'opinion conventionnelle de son époque selon laquelle le Moyen Âge était une période stérile entre l'Antiquité et la Renaissance, il était en avance sur son temps dans son admiration pour Cimabue et Giotto. C'est toutefois l'école florentine qu'il considérait comme prééminente et Michel-Ange était son héros et son ami. Une bonne partie de ce que nous savons de Léonard de Vinci et de sa "Joconde" provient de cet ouvrage. L'excellent sens de la narration de Vasari, son style vivant et ses vastes connaissances personnelles font de ses "Vies" une contribution essentielle à notre compréhension du caractère et de la psychologie des grands artistes de la Renaissance. C'est aussi dans ce livre que l'on trouve imprimé pour la première fois le mot "Renaissance. Pagination erratique avec de nombreux sauts de pages. Rousseurs peu importantes, marge du dernier feuillet du premier et du dernier tome restaurée. Bon exemplaire. ******************* ENGLISH *********** Second edition, the first illustrated. One portrait of Vasari and 144 woodcuts portraits of artists. This is the definitive edition, partly rewritten and much enlarged with the addition of some lives of artists, notably those from Venice, who were absent of the first edition of 1550. The "Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors and Architects" is the founding work of Art History. Vasari was the first to use the term "Renaissance" in print. Printing and the Mind of Man 88 (this edition) : "Vasari's "book contains the biographies of Italian painters, etc. from the thirteenth to the sixteenth century. They are based on earlier written and printed sources, on oral accounts, on his knowledge of works of art and his own collection of large drawings. Vasari traveled extensively to collect personal information, meeting most of the artists of his time. Though he took the conventional view of his day that the Middle Ages was a barren period between Antiquity and the Renaissance, he was in advance of his time in his admiration for Cimabue and Giotto. It was the Florentine school, however, which he considered preeminent and Michelangelo was his great hero and his friend. Much of what we know about Leonardo da Vinci and his "Mona Lisa" comes from this book. Vasari's excellent sense of narrative, however, and lively style combined with his wide personal acquaintance makes his 'Lives' a vital contribution to our understanding of the character and psychology of the great artists of the Renaissance, a term ('rinascita') which he was the first writer to use... It also contains an autobiography and a valuable treatise on the technical methods employed in the arts. It became a model for subsequent writings on the history of art... For its period it has remained the chief authority and new editions both learned and popular are published regularly. Cancel slip on folio Rrr4, part III, and two manuscript corrections (TT3r, vol. 1 and YYyyy3r, part3), as described by Mortimer. Mortimer describe two issues of this edition, without priority, varying in the placement of the allegorical woodcut on the title page or on the verso of the title leaf. In this copy, the block showing the awkening of the souls of the dead artists is on the title page. This illustration served as the only illustration to the first edition of the 'Vite', Florence, 1550. Mortimer, Harvard 515.