
Ep 52: Book Talks: "Lives of the Artists" by Giorgio Vasari (Part 1) w/ Mandy Wilson Rosen
Pep Talks for ArtistsShow Notes
Artist, Mandolyn Wilson Rosen, is back with me for another Book Talks episode! In this episode, we are reading Giorgio Vasari's "Lives of the Artists," published 1550/1568 which profiles famous High Renaissance, mostly Florentine artists such as Michelangelo, Raphael, Boticcelli, and a few lesser-knowns. We were so excited about the book that we ran deliciously long and decided to cut it up and make it a two-parter.
In Part 1, we cover Vasari's takes on Giotto, Masaccio, Piero Della Francesca, Paolo Uccello, Fra Filippo Lippi, and Madonna Properzia de Rossi (the only woman in the book, and who was even left out of Mandy's earlier English translation!) Part 2 is coming right up - please keep an eye out.
Shout out to artist and writer, Elisabeth Nicula, who we quoted in the episode, and to the books that helped form Vasari's masterwork: "The Decameron" by Giovanni Boccaccio and "The Life of Brunelleschi." Also, a tip of the cap to the Virgin's Holy Girdle of Prato, shown to the public only 4 times a year: https://irenebrination.typepad.com/irenebrination_notes_on_a/2017/07/girdle-cintola-prato.html (Really, no one can out-weird the Catholics)
The book is available widely, both used and new! We recommend a skim, not a binge.
Find Mandolyn Wilson Rosen online at: https://mandolynwilsonrosen.com/
Thank you to artist, Amy McCormac, for your kind Buy Me A Coffee donation this month!
----------------------------
Pep Talks on IG: @peptalksforartists
Pep Talks on Art Spiel as written essays: https://tinyurl.com/7k82vd8s
Amy's website: https://www.amytalluto.com/ Amy on IG: @talluts
BuyMeACoffee Donations appreciated!
More from Pep Talks for Artists
Paul Klee loved working in a wide variety of styles at once in his paintings: abstract, representational, runic or symbolic. His oeuvre literally contains multitudes. I recently saw a show of his late works in New York at the Jewish Museum and was amazed at how many mediums and approaches to painting were on display. This episode honors him and his radical reconsideration of Painting with a side detour on Magritte. Come along for a wild ride!
We're talking collage! Jennifer Coates joins me in a quest to get to the heart of why collage is such a powerful generator in the studio. We also take a look at 2 artists who used collage in different ways: Lee Krasner and Jess. Krasner used collage at certain key moments to bridge bodies of work, and Jess used collage as his main ecstatic medium spanning more than 4 decades of his output. As Krasner teaches us: "Knife or scissors...no tear! "
Louise Bourgeois Part 2! Mandolyn Wilson Rosen is back in her Book Talks seat to help me dissect a new delicious art book: Drawings & Observations by Louise Bourgeois with Lawrence Rinder. Bourgeois referred to these sketches as her "thought feathers" and revealed her thinking behind the reproduced works in recordings transcribed by curator Lawrence Rinder. It was so cool to get these direct insights into her imagery. This episode is a sequel to the recording right before this one (about our trip to view Louise Bourgeois' NYC home). Check out Part 1 if you missed it!
Beka Goedde and Mandolyn Wilson Rosen join me this episode to unpack our experience visiting renowned artist, Louise Bourgeois' home in NYC. We entered her historic brownstone and were immediately transported to another world and time. Louise lived a full life but was very much an artistic homebody. She made her home her studio in every sense of the word, stuffing each room full of materials to be on hand whenever inspiration struck. She found a way to balance family life with making her work and rode out long career lulls with grace and determination. Come along with us as we discuss our peek inside her sanctuary.
In this new Book Talks episode, Mandolyn Wilson Rosen is back to help me review a new art book: Jack Whitten: Notes From the Woodshed, Edited by Katy Siegel for Hauser & Wirth. Equal parts profound, strident and hilarious, Jack Whitten's (1939-2018) 50 year studio log packs a wallop. And it's meaty at 581 pages, so we had lots to discuss! Stick around to hear some sage advice, inspiring tales of studio experimentation and even some positive affirmations from this incredible painter and sculptor.