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Alberti,
Leone Battista.
1404-1472.
Famous Renaissance architect, painter, writer, philosopher and mathematician.
De
re aedificatoria. 1485 (Latin). L'architettura.
1550 (Italian). The
architecture in ten books. 1726 (English).
First and most comprehensive Renaissance treatise on architecture
to be printed. Treatise
modelled on that of Vitruvius, Roman architect of the first century
B.C.
De pictura. 1540 (Latin). Della pittura. 1547 (Italian).
On painting. 1726 (English). Influential Renaissance treatise
on painting technique. Dedicated to the great architect, Brunelleschi.
The first truly theoretical work on the visual arts. Composed of
three volumes, setting out scientific methods of one-point perspective,
design, and the education of the artist.
De statua. 1877 (Latin). Della statua. 1651 (Italian).
Of statuary. 1726 (English). Treatise on a technical method
of designing a statue of any scale.
Albertini,
Francesco.
fl. 1510.
Florentine chaplain, painter, poet and antiquary.
Memoriale di molte statue. 1909 (Italian). A brief guide
to Florence city by quartieri. Dedicated to the Florentine
sculptor Baccio da Montepulto.
Opusculum de mirabilibus Romae. 1510 (Latin). An updated
version of the Mirabilia Urbis Romae, the twelfth
century standard medieval guidebook to Rome.
Anon.
Italian writer.
Anonymus Magliabecchianus. 1852 (Latin). Il codice
magliabechiano. 1892 (Italian). Manuscript composed of biographies
of major artists active in Florence from the late thirteenth century
to the sixteenth century. Was discovered in 1755 in the Magliabechiano
collection of manuscripts and first published in 1892. Thought to
be written between 1542 and 1548.
Aretino,
Pietro. 1492-1556.
Art critic and collector living in Venice.
Lettere, I-VI. 1538-56 (Italian). Includes letters to Michelangelo
and Titian.
Armenini,
Giovanni Battista. 1530-1609.
Painter from Faenza, known more for his art treatises than his painting.
De' veri precetti della pittura. 1586 (Italian). Contains
anecdotes about artists and art works as well as painting technique.
Defines painting in five parts. Considered to be one of the most
comprehensive treatises on sixteenth-century art.
Baglione, Giovanni. ca. 1573-1644.
Painter, writer, and draughtsman from Rome.
Le vite. 1642 (Italian). Lives of Renaissance artists with
emphasis on Rome. Includes some foreign artists such as Rubens and
Goltzius.
Baldinucci, Filippo. 1624-1696.
Art historian, writer, businessman, and art collector for noble
Florentine families.
Notizie de' professori. 1686-1728. (Italian). Comprehensive
edition of artists' biographies to expand on Vasari's Vite.
Vocabolario toscano. 1681. (Italian). Extensive dictionary
of the technical language of painting, sculpture and architecture.
Bartoli,
Cosimo. ca. 1503 - ca. 1572.
Italian diplomat and writer who studied architecture in Rome and
was a friend of Vasari. Interested in promoting the Italian language.
Ragionamenti accademici. 1567 (Italian).
Bellori, Giovanni Pietro. 1615-1696.
Historian who admired classicism as depicted in the paintings of
Raphael.
Descrizzione delle imagini dipinte da Rafaello d'Urbino.
1695 (Italian). Describes Raphael's frescoes in the Vatican and
the Villa Farnesina in Rome.
Le
vite. 1672 (Italian). Source information on Caravaggio, Rubens,
Poussin, Carracci, Domenichino and others.
Billi,
Antonio. ca. 1480-1550.
Connoisseur who collected anecdotes about Renaissance artists.
Il libro di Antonio Billi. 1892 (Italian). Collection of
reminiscences on Florentine artists.
Biondo,
Flavio. 1392-1463.
Scholar, administrator and papal secretary. Curious about history
and inspired by Rome.
De Roma instaurata, et de Italia illustrata. 1510 (Latin).
Roma ristaurata, et Italia illustrata. 1542. (Italian). First
reconstruction of the ancient city of Rome. Includes personal observations.
Arranged topographically and by building type.
Boccaccio,
Giovanni. 1313-1375.
One of the most influential writers of the fourteenth century.
Genealogia deorum gentilium. 1472 (Latin). Genealogia
de gli dei. 1547 (Italian). An encyclopedia.
Bocchi,
Francesco. 1548-1618.
Prolific writer and scholar from Florence.
Le bellezze della città di Fiorenza. 1591 (Italian).
First Renaissance guide to Florence.
Borghini,
Raffaello. 1541-ca. 1588.
Poet and writer; active in the Medici courts. A friend of Vasari.
Il riposo. 1584 (Italian). Contains long essays on art theory
and techniques, as well as biographies of artists. Supplements Vasari.
Cartari,
Vincenzo. fl. 1550.
Writer, known for translations of classical texts into Italian,
and for his descriptions of classical statues.
Le imagini. 1556 (Italian). Imagines deorum. 1581
(Latin). The fountaine of ancient fiction. 1599 (English).
A handbook of gods and myths of antiquity and an iconographical
guide for artists. Concentrates on appearance, attributes and symbolic
significance. Was important and popular all over Italy. His sources
included Boccaccio's Geneologia decorum of 1373.
Castiglione,
Baldessare. 1478-1529.
Famous diplomat, humanist and writer. Knew Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael
and others.
Il libro del cortegiano. 1528 (Italian). The courtyer.
1561 (English). Fictitious dialogues set in the Gonzaga court discussing
the proper education of an aristocrat.
Cataneo,
Pietro. fl. 1567.
Architect and military engineer known for his work on upgrading
fortifications.
I quattro primi libri di architettura. 1554 (Italian). Four-volume
treatise on Venice's fortifications, building materials, churches
and domestic architecture.
Cellini,
Benvenuto. 1500-1571.
Goldsmith, sculptor and writer. One of the most famous sixteenth-century
Italian mannerist artists.
Due trattati. 1568 (Italian). Two treatises on the techniques
of goldsmithing and sculpture. Initials in text are woodcuts of
scenes of towns and castles.
Vita
di Benvenuto Cellini. 1728 (Italian). Autobiography of Benvenuto
Cellini. 1771 (English). Autobiography with numerous accounts
of the Medicis.
Cennini,
Cennino. ca. 1370 -ca. 1440.
Painter, better known for his practical writings on art.
Il libro dell'arte. 1859 (Italian). Describes painting techniques
used in the fifteenth century including panel painting, pigments,
drawings materials, tempera etc.
Colonna,
Francesco. 1432/33-1527.
Identified as possifly a Venetian Dominican friar.
Hypnerotomachia Poliphili. 1499 (Italian). Hypnerotomachia.
The strife of love in a dreame. 1592 (English). One of the most
mysterious books of the Renaissance. An allegorical story published
in Venice by the famous publisher Aldo Manuzio. A masterpiece of
Renaissance book design. Includes lavish descriptions of gardens,
architecture, sculpture and decorative objects. Influenced artists
such as Bernini.
Condivi,
Ascanio. 1525-1574.
Painter and friend of Michelangelo.
Vita di Michelangelo. 1553 (Italian). Includes anecdotes
of Michelangelo's daily life. Probably written under Michelangelo's
guidance. Opposes some aspects of the Michelangelo biography in
Vasari's Vite.
Dolce,
Lodovico. 1508-1568.
Critic and painter, working in Venice.
Dialogo della pittura intitolato l'Aretino. 1557 (Italian).
Aretin: a dialogue on painting. 1770 (English). Opposes the
dominance of the Florentine Renaissance tradition set out in Vasari.
Includes a critique of Titian, Raphael and Michelangelo.
Doni,
Antonio Francesco. 1513-1574.
Writer in sixteenth century Venice with interest in the visual arts
and emblematic literature.
Disegno. 1549 (Italian). One of the most valuable treatises
on workshop practices in the sixteenth century.
Lettere. 1544 (Italian.)
Pitture. 1564 (Italian). Discussion of the merits of painting
vs sculpture.
Gaurico,
Pomponio. 1481/82-1530.
Member of the humanist circle in Padua.
De sculptura. 1504 (Latin). Treatise on bronze sculpture
in the fifteenth century.
Ghiberti,
Lorenzo. 1378-1455.
Celebrated goldsmith and sculptor.
I commentari. 1912 (Italian). Describes art history from
antiquity to the fifteenth century. Includes an autobiography and
his views on artists in the fourteenth century.
Lafreri,
Antonio. 1512-1577.
French engraver and publisher who worked in Rome.
Speculum Romanae magnificentiae. 1544-1575 (Latin). A collection
of engravings of ancient and Renaissance Rome and important for
research in architectural history. In demand by tourists, this work
made Lafreri the first major print publisher.
Leonardo
da Vinci. 1452-1519.
Famous Florentine painter, sculptor, scientist, architect and writer.
Trattato della pittura. 1651 (Italian). Posthumous selection
from his manuscripts; a fully coherent collection of Leonardo's
views on painting. Most notable is the section concerning the paragone
- the comparison of the arts. Covers questions of light, colour,
motion, gesture, botany and perspective.
Lomazzo,
Giovanni Paolo. 1538-1600.
Late Mannerist painter, best known for his writings on the philosopy
of art.
Trattato dell'arte de la pittura. 1584. (Italian). A tracte.
1598. (English). The most complete treatise on iconography of the
Mannerist period, as well as a study of Milanese painters. Includes
proportion, expression of emotions, colour, light and shade, perspective,
genre and subjects.
Manetti,
Antonio di Tuccio. 1423-1497.
Florentine writer and businessman.
Vita di Filippo Brunellescho. 1887 (Italian). First comprehensive
biography of a single artist. Consulted by Vasari. Contains a famous
anecdote thought to be written by Brunelleschi himself.
Michiel,
Marcantonio. 1486?-1552.
Venetian collector, connoisseur and writer on art, architecture
and current affairs.
Notizia d'opere di disegno. 1800 (Italian). Valuable source
on art patronage in the sixteenth century.
Palladio,
Andrea. 1508-1580.
Famous influential Renaissance architect and theorist.
L'antichita di Roma. 1554 (Italian). Archaeological guide
to the city of Rome. Highly successful, it replaced the traditional
works on Rome and its treasures.
Descritione de le chiese. 1554 (Italian).
I
quattro libri dell'architettura. 1570 (Italian). The four
books of Andrea Palladio's Architecture. 1738 (English). Concerns
the principles of architecture such as the orders, building techniques
and principles, as well as villas, public buildings, city planning
and antiquity. Illustrates many of Palladio's own villas. Is accompanied
by woodcut illustrations of each building discussed. Widely imitated
in Great Britain and the U.S.
Passeri,
Giovanni Battista. d. 1679.
Painter of frescoes and altarpieces, best known for his writings
about painters he knew.
Le vite. 1772 (Italian). Anecdotes about painters including
personal details. Includes Pietro da Bortona, Borromini, Guido Reni
and others.
Piccolomini,
Aeneas Sylvius. 1405-1464.
Pope Pius II. Humanist, historian, geographer, orator, diplomat
and author. Commissioned many buildings and illuminated manuscripts.
Alberti was the Apostolic Secretary to Pope Pius II during his papacy.
Pii Secundi Commentarii. 1614. (Latin).
Memoirs of a Renaissance pope.
Pino, Paolo. d. 1601.
Venetian writer and painter in the style of Giorgione.
Dialogo di pittura. 1548 (Italian). First Venetian theory
of painting. Composed as a dialogue between two imaginary painters
- a Tuscan and a Venetian.
Sansovino, Francesco. 1521-1586.
Prolific Venetian writer and editor.
Venetia Citta Nobilissima. 1581 (Italian). The first survey
of Venetian art and architecture. Originally published in fourteen
volumes.
Scamozzi, Vincenzo. 1548-1616.
One of the leading architects in sixteenth-century Italy. Also known
for his theoretical writings.
L'idea della architettura universale. 1615 (Italian). A very
elaborate treatise on architectural history, the last in the Renaissance
tradition. Aimed at illustrating the ideal working method, setting
out steps in the study of sources and the selection of a nucleus
of rational principles epitomized in rules for the construction
of the five orders of architecture. Presentation of a series of
concrete solutions for the form and function of different building
types.
Serlio,
Sebastiano. 1475-1554.
Internationally influential architect, theorist and painter. Active
in Venice, at the Vatican under Bramante and Peruzzi, and in France,
where he produced and published much of his writing.
Architettura I-V. 1537-1547. (Italian). The first (second-fifth)
book of architecture. 1611 (English). One of the most
influential Renaissance treatises on architecture. For the first
time the five architectural orders are presented together and documented
in woodcut illustrations.
Architettura VII. 1575 (Italian). Miscellanea. Publshed
posthumously, more than twenty years after his death. (Note: Book
VI on domestic architecture was not published until 1978. It
is not included in this database.)
Libro extraordinario di architettura. 1558 (Italian). The
only one of his books to feature copper engravings rather than woodcut
plates.
Varchi,
Benedetto. 1502-1565.
Humanista who wrote commentaries on Petrarch, Dante, and Plato.
Active in the Accademia Fiorentina.
Due lezzioni. 1549. (Italian). Two lectures delivered in
1547 in Santa Maria Novella in Florence. Includes a short discourse
entitled Della bella e grazie (Of beauty and grace).
Vasari, Georgio. 1511-1574.
Architect, painter and art historiographer.
Le vite. 1551 (Italian). The first critical history of artistic
style. Comprised of an introduction to architecture, sculpture and
painting and three parts of artists' biographies, each with its
own proemio.
Le vite. 1568 (Italian). Second edition, the basis for all
subsequent editions and translations.
Vasari On technique. 1907 (English).
The lives. 1912-1915 (English).
Vespasiano
da Bisticci. 1421-1498.
Florentine bookseller and writer.
Vite dei huomini illustri. 1859 (Italian). Reminiscences
of his friends, former clients, cardinals, bishops and eminent Florentines.
Vignola,
Giacomo Barozzio da. 1507-1573.
The leading sixteenth-century architect in Rome following Michelangelo.
Regola delli cinque ordini d'architettura. 1562 (Italian).
Most influential, especially in France, treatise on classical architecture
until the advent of Modernism. First treatise to propose fixed rules
for the five architectural orders.
Vignola, or the Compleat Architect. 1665. (English). Widely
published. A visual guide to the architectural orders. In large
format.
Marcus
Vitruvius Pollio. fl. 46 B.C.
Roman architect in the first century B.C.
De architectura. 1511 (Latin). De architettura. 1521
(Italian). I dieci libri dell'architettura. 1556 (Italian).
The only surviving ancient treatise on the principles of architecture.
Influenced Renaissance treatises as a sourcebook on Greek and Roman
architecture.
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