Giorgio Vasari

Giorgio Vasari is famous as the first art historian, but he was also one of the busiest painters and architects in sixteenth century Florence. His paintings follow the style of Michelangelo: muscular figures, twisting poses and crowded, carefully planned compositions.

Born in Arezzo, he trained in Florence and worked for the Medici for most of his career. He painted the great ceilings of the Palazzo Vecchio, began the Last Judgement in the dome of Florence Cathedral, and designed the Uffizi and the corridor that runs over the Ponte Vecchio to the Pitti Palace. His Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors and Architects, first published in 1550, gave us much of what we know about Renaissance artists and popularised the idea of a rebirth of the arts.

Among his altarpieces, the Incredulity of Saint Thomas and the Deposition from the Cross show his clear colour and sculptural figures.