Lives of the Most Eminent Painters Sculptors and Architects, Vol. 01 (of 10)
 Cimabue to Agnolo Gaddi

by Giorgio Vasari

"Lives of the Most Eminent Painters Sculptors and Architects, Vol. 01 (of 10)" by Giorgio Vasari is a series of artist biographies published in 1550, with a second edition in 1568. This groundbreaking work chronicles the lives of Italian Renaissance painters, sculptors, and architects, establishing the genre of art history writing. Vasari combines technical insights with colorful anecdotes and gossip about artists from Giotto to his own contemporaries. Though criticized for favoring Florentine artists and containing factual inaccuracies, it remains the most influential and widely read art history text of its era.