Casa Vasari in Florence

When people hear the name "Casa Vasari", they first think of the Casa Vasari in Arezzo (1542-48), which became a museum in 1955. However, the online exhibition presented here is dedicated to the Casa Vasari in Florence. It was the residence of the painter of Duke Cosimo I of Tuscany, but was previously little-known among the public for various reasons and was also relatively neglected by the academic world until now. From Vasari's original residence, which is not easily accessible even today, only the frescoes in the Sala Grande (around 1572) have survived, and they are in a precarious state of conservation. Thanks to the generosity of the owners and the intervention of the Fondazione Horne and the restorer, Guido Botticelli, the Photo Library was able to meticulously document the Sala Grande in photographs in January and June 2008, which on the one hand documented the restoration that Botticelli has been working on since 2002, and on the other hand illustrates how important it would be to restore the parts of the frescoes that have not yet been included. The Ente Cassa di Risparmio (savings bank) of Florence has responded to this urgent appeal by the Fondazione Horne, so that the restoration work will be able to proceed in the near future. As always, the photo campaign of the Casa Vasari combines the documentary task of the Photo Library with the interests of research, in particular with the studies of Vasari by the Nova Directorate, which culminated in a recent congress and in the new edition of the "Lives" published by Wagenbach Verlag. After the Casa Zuccari, this online exhibition opens the doors of the Casa Vasari in virtual form and gives the residence of one of Florence's most famous citizens back to the city.

go to Online Exhibition