Lives of the ArtistsLives of the Artists made Vasari one of the most influential art historians of all time, fusing literary and artistic ability. In his Lives of the Artists of the Italian Renaissance, Vasari demonstrated a literary talent that outshone even his outstanding abilities as a painter and architect. Through character sketches and anecdotes, he depicts Piero di Cosimo shut away in his derelict house, living only to paint; Giulio Romano's startling painting of