Vasari on Competition
In Giorgio Vasari's monumental Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects of 1550 and 1568, we find the first sustained use of artistic rivalry for rhetorical purposes, supporting Vasari's notion of the progress of the visual arts. Vasari embraces healthy competition-a...
Main Author: | |
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Format: | Electronic Article |
Language: | English |
Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
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Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
Published: |
Sixteenth Century Journal Publishers, Inc.
1996
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In: |
The sixteenth century journal
Year: 1996, Volume: 27, Issue: 1, Pages: 23-41 |
Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
Summary: | In Giorgio Vasari's monumental Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects of 1550 and 1568, we find the first sustained use of artistic rivalry for rhetorical purposes, supporting Vasari's notion of the progress of the visual arts. Vasari embraces healthy competition-and rejects its opposite, envy-as a means not only of developing the individual's skill but also of improving art itself in a communal endeavor. Competition-envy is a recurring leitmotif in the Lives; particular attention is given here to references in the lives of Brunelleschi and Michelangelo. Vasari is ultimately unable to reconcile the conflict between the dynamic of artistic progress and the stasis of the artistic perfection he found in Michelangelo, and recommends that artists follow the example of Raphael in eschewing direct competition with Michelangelo. |
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ISSN: | 2326-0726 |
Contains: | Enthalten in: The sixteenth century journal
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Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.2307/2544267 |