Lives of the Most Eminent Painters Sculptors and Architects, Vol. 03 (of 10) Filarete and Simone to Mantegna — Edition Insights

Movement Between Cities

Vasari tracks artists as they travel for commissions, often in competition. Lorenzo Costa worked in Bologna for the Bentivogli, then in Mantua for the Marquis. Ercole Ferrarese, we are told, 'would never abandon his master' Costa despite invitations elsewhere—a rare loyalty. The biographies are structured around these shifts: a painter arrives, executes works for a patron, then moves on. Vasari notes when works are lost ('thrown to the ground in the destruction of that palace') and when they survive, as with Costa's chapel in S. Jacopo. This geographic movement is not merely background; it shapes the narrative arc of each life.

Portraits from the Life

A recurring detail in the excerpts is Vasari's mention of portraits taken from life. In Costa's work for the great hall in Mantua, he painted 'an infinite number of portraits from the life,' including the Marquis and his sons. Vasari often records that a portrait was 'from life' or 'portrayed by Costa from the life,' emphasizing the artist's direct observation. This phrase appears repeatedly, suggesting Vasari valued lifelikeness as a marker of skill. He also notes that he received Costa's portrait from a painter who assured him it was by Costa's own hand—a chain of provenance that Vasari sometimes includes.

Unfinished Works and Lost Buildings

Vasari does not shy away from recording incompletion. Of Costa's work in S. Pietro, he writes that after making 'some figures on the ceiling, he left it unfinished, nay, scarcely begun.' The Bentivogli palace paintings were destroyed when the palace was razed. These details ground the biographies in the physical fragility of art. Vasari also notes when a work is the 'only one remaining standing' after a demolition. This attention to loss and survival gives the volume a historical dimension: the reader is reminded that many works described no longer exist, and that Vasari's text is sometimes the only record.

Competition and Collaboration

Vasari often places artists in relation to one another. Costa painted rooms in the Bentivogli palace 'in competition with many other masters.' Ercole Ferrarese is introduced as Costa's disciple who 'learnt his first principles' from him, and later as a teacher of Dosso. The lives are linked through master-pupil chains and shared commissions. Vasari also records when a work is 'in competition' with others, suggesting a competitive artistic culture. These connections create a network of influence that Vasari makes explicit, naming who taught whom and which works were done alongside rivals.

Readers approaching this volume will find that Vasari's method rewards attention to the specific works he describes—their location, condition, and fate. The biographies are not isolated; they form a web of artists moving between cities, competing for patrons, and leaving behind works that sometimes survive only in Vasari's prose. Noting the recurring phrases 'from the life' and 'left unfinished' can help trace Vasari's own criteria for artistic achievement.

That rainy afternoon, Vasari’s gossipy rivalries made the Renaissance feel like a small town, though I kept wishing for more on Giotto. He lingers only briefly in these pages. Later, restless, I found a thin volume devoted entirely to his Padua frescoes, where the Arena Chapel’s quiet blues and golds seemed to slow time itself. Giotto and his works in Padua An Explanatory Notice of the Series of Woodcuts Executed for the Arundel Society After the Frescoes in the Arena Chapel — Reading Companion felt less like a study and more like sitting beside someone patient, pointing at light.