Listen

In the mid-1500s, Giorgio Vasari's short biographies created art history, the artist as genius and even the "Renaissance". Although rife with inaccuracies and outright lies, his book is still the source on Leonardo, Michelangelo, and many others. Tony Luppino leafs through Vasari's Lives to see how it still shapes our ideas of art.

Participants in the program:

(in order of appearance), Art Historian, University of Virginia, author of Why Mona Lisa Smiles and Other Tales From Vasari'; Michelangelo's Nose: A Myth and Its Maker; and A Brief History of the Artist From God to Picasso, co-director, Kunsthistorische Institut, Florence., Renaissance scholar and actor, portraying Giorgio Vasari guding tourists in Florence., Adjunct Professor of Art, Rutgers University., Professor of History of Architecture, University of Rome., art historian, Head of Museums of Florence., Deputy of Vatican Museums, Rome.Readings byTranslations by