Famous Painters: Their Lives and Works

The reader will not find a personal art critique within these pages, because centuries have already passed judgment on the people we have taken as our subject. What else can we do but admire the Mona Lisa when viewing it in the Louvre? The criticism of this famous work was made centuries ago by Giorgio Vasari, a contemporary of Leonardo, and this opinion has not been refuted to this day. We have based our book on this foundation. We had the opportunity to personally see a significant portion of the mentioned works in museums around the world. These impressions, combined with the writings of many art critics on the subject, gave birth to this book.

Even the most reliable books have not been immune to chronological errors. In this regard, we placed particular emphasis on a comparative examination when rewriting the life stories of famous artists. Thus, we believe we have presented a document that conforms to historical facts in every respect.