Giorgio Vasari: The Architect of Artistic Biography Giorgio Vasari, born in Arezzo in 1511 and tragically passing away in Florence in 1574, wasn’t merely a painter or architect; he was the pivotal figure who essentially invented the modern art historical biography. Often considered the “minister of culture” to the powerful Medici court in Florence, Vasari’s magnum opus, *The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Archite…