The Lives of the Artists – Giorgio Vasari

"Art owes its origin to Nature herself."

Giorgio Vasari compiles a series of biographies of the great Italian Renaissance artists, from Cimabue and Giotto to Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. He traces the progress of art from its medieval decline to its perfection in his own time, coining the term 'Renaissance' (Rinascita).

Vasari's work is the first book of art history. While sometimes anecdotal, it is the primary source for our knowledge of the lives and personalities of the artists who shaped Western culture. It established the canon of Italian art and the idea of the artist as a divinely inspired genius.