Leonardo da Vinci

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Summary

'In this painting of Leonardo's there was a smile so pleasing that it seemed divine rather than human.'

Often called "the first art historian", Vasari writes with delight on the lives of Leonardo and other celebrated Renaissance artists .

Introducing Little Black Classics: 80 books for Penguin's 80th birthday. Little Black Classics celebrate the huge range and diversity of Penguin Classics, with books from around the world and across many centuries. They take us from a balloon ride over Victorian London to a garden of blossom in Japan, from Tierra del Fuego to 16th-century California and the Russian steppe. Here are stories lyrical and savage; poems epic and intimate; essays satirical and inspirational; and ideas that have shaped the lives of millions.

Giorgio Vasari (1511-1574). Vasari's works available in Penguin Classics are Lives of the Artists Volume I and Volume II.

About the author

Giorgio Vasari

Born in Arezzo, Tuscany, in 1511, Giorgio Vasari was a versatile artist. Painter, architect, art collector, writer and historian, he is primarily acknowledged today as the author of The Lives of the Most Celebrated Painters, Sculptors and Architects. A foundational book of art history; it has acted as the prototype for all biographies of artists. Vasari had a prolific career in the city, working for the Medici family, notably for Cosimo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany. He cultivated friendships with many artists, including Michelangelo, who influenced his style. Unusually well-educated for an artist of his time, the 1540s, Vasari became involved in chronicling the lives, times and works of the great artists of what he called the Renaissance, defining the term as we understand it today. 1550 saw publication of the first edition of the Lives of the Painters in Florence.
Vasari died on 27 June 1574, while at work decorating the dome of the cathedral in Florence.

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