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The Collector of Lives: Giorgio Vasari and the Invention of Art by Noah Charney, Ingrid Rowland
tahlia__nerds_out's review
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
This book was an unexpected gem. I started off by listening to it on Audible, as I had wanted an audiobook to listen to for Quarter 3 of Historathon 2023 [1500-1820 AD], and this title had struck my fancy. I expected to learn more about Renaissance artists who I already knew and loved… I did not anticipate that I would become invested in Giorgio Visari himself. Prior to this book, I had never heard of Visari, let alone known that he was an accomplished artist in his own right.
As the book progressed, I found myself longing to see the paintings and frescos referred to, but – even more pressingly – I yearned to see Visari’s work. At this point, I abandoned the audiobook and pick up a hardback format so that I could resume the work there. I am so glad that I did. The artwork and the feeling of the book in my hands was worth it.
I have learned so much from this book about the art scene and political climate of the Renaissance Italian city-states. This book – and Visari himself – awakened in me a desire to learn more about other artists of the era, and I picked up a few other books focusing on different Renaissance artists.
I wish that I had started The Collector of Lives in the hardback format; I am certain that I missed some valuable nuggets of information that I simply did not absorb as well via audiobook. There is so much that I enjoyed about this book, but Visari himself was the best part, the treasure too often undervalued by history. Itinerant Artist, Writer, Historian, Architect… Giorgio Visari was all of these things. But above all else, he was a driven outsider who sprung out of Arezzo onto the Florentine art scene… and formed how the art world of the Renaissance and beyond would be viewed for prosperity.
I have set Visari back on my shelf for now, but this will not be the last time I visit him and his world in these pages. The Collector of Lives is definitely a 5-star read for me.
quadruploni's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
3.75
This book abounds in compelling stories and fascinating details; it's a shame the editing was so poor!
pallasreads's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
3.75
I personally had a bit of a rough start with this; a significant section of the first third deals with politics that went over my head (not being particularly familiar with the politics of the period). However, once I got past that, the book was incredibly engaging and a sweeping look at Renaissance Florence and the man who made sure we knew all the artists’ names 500 years later
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