Spruce Up On Art History

Lives of the Artists by Giorgio Vasari

(Oxford University Press, Inc.)
($12.95 paperback)

I didn’t grow up loving art. In fact, when I was little, my mother took a class at The Art Institute of Chicago and I remember being bored out of my mind when she’d take me along to the museum to do research. The only way I would agree to stay quiet was the promise of a McDonald’s Happy Meal if I behaved properly. Oh what a treat this was, as a macrobiotic diet with green noodles and seaweed had taken over our kitchen at home…but I digress. It wasn’t until college, when I took an Italian Renaissance art course to fulfill a graduation requirement, that my love affair with art history began. My wonderful professor not only introduced us to the major artworks from that time period, but she also told us stories about the artists, their dramas, egos, love affairs and feuds. Soon enough, I was hooked. To this day, I still get lost in the symbolism, mystery, history and true artistry of the Renaissance masterpieces. One of my all-time favorite books “Lives of the Artists,” written by Giorgio Vasari, provides wonderful short biographies of the great artists of that time.
Vasari, one of their contemporaries and an artist in his own right, outlines the influences and theories surrounding Renaissance art and traces the progression through Giotto, Brunelleschi, Michaelangelo, Da Vinci and Raphael, among many others. Even if you’re not quite into art history, this book is a must-read and it might just light a fire within you as it did within me. If nothing else, the book is easy to follow and is comprised of short chapters, so you can impress your friends and colleagues at the next cocktail party with your newfound knowledge of art history.

Written by Kaisa Talaga