Lives of the Artists: Volume I

I started reading this thinking it would cover the techniques and materials of the Renaissance masters. Apparently, that’s another Vasari book (unsurprisingly) called, “Vasari on Technique.” This is more of a straight up accounting of the major works of the period. Having someone describe artworks through words doesn’t really make for the most exciting read. There’s only so many ways you can say, “His painting was almost indistinguishable from nature.” The most interesting parts of the book are the various anecdotes about the day-to-day activities of the old masters. But those stories a few and far between the rote cataloguing of works.