Vasari: the artist who overshadowed himself

There can be few more flagrant instances of the law of unintended consequences than the way in which Vasaris Lives of the Artists have all but fatally overshadowed his own artistic career. For while even his greatest admirers would concede that he was not a creative genius on the Olympian level of his hero, Michelangelo, he was an extremely accomplished painter and indeed architect. At the same time, it seems clear thatwhether he would have agreed or notthe very best of him was reserved for his