Vasari's Lost Book of Drawings Revealed at Louvre Exhibition

The Louvre in Paris is presenting the exhibition "Giorgio Vasari, le Livre des dessins: Destinées d'une collection mythique" from July 18, 2022, shedding light on the lost "Libro de' disegni" by Renaissance master Giorgio Vasari. Vasari, known for his "Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects," compiled a unique catalog of drawings by the best Italian artists of his time. In 1574, he donated the book to Grand Duke Francesco I of Tuscany, after which it disappeared without a trace. For centuries, collectors and critics mistakenly believed they had found original pages. In 1730, scholar Pierre-Jean Mariette thought he identified a recognition criterion: the drawings were glued and decorated with specific motifs, termed "montaggio Vasari." However, in 1950, Arthur Popham and Philip Pouncey discovered that the frieze with a phoenix and the motto "Tant que je vivrai" was actually the coat of arms of the Gaddi family of Florence. Collector Niccolò Gaddi owned drawings, but none were proven to be Vasari's. Eventually, a sketch by Giulio Romano, "Fall of Icarus," was confirmed to come from the legendary book. Today, thirty drawings are considered authentic, ten of which are on display in Paris. The exhibition includes a selection of documentaries in the Auditorium.