Giorgio Vasari's memoirs at the cinema: world premiere of Luca Verdone's film presented

Over the weekend, the film Le memorie di Giorgio Vasari(The Memoirs of Giorgio Vasari), dedicated to the great artist and historiographer Giorgio Vasari (Arezzo, 1511 - Florence, 1574), author of the very famous Vite de’ più eccellenti pittori, scultori e architettori, the great collection of biographies from Cimabue to the artists of the 16th century, had its world premiere at the Bif&st - Bari International Film Festival. The film, directed by Luca Verdone, is a “docu-fiction that aims ”to illustrate the works and thought of the great architect, painter, and writer from Arezzo," as the synopsis reads. Vasari recounts in the first person, as in a diary, the events of his life, the works he created in the wake of Michelangelo and Andrea del Sarto, his relations with the Medici and with the artists and men of letters he knew closely (such as Michelangelo, Francesco Salviati, Titian, and Pietro Aretino). Still, “aspects of his private life in his workshop, his relationships with his models and pupils” are not overlooked, and again “his ties with the Farnese family” who called him to Rome to fresco the interior of the Palazzo della Cancelleria, and his relations with Grand Duke Cosimo I. Space, of course, is also given to the writing of the two editions of Lives and aspects of the character of Giorgio Vasari’s intentions.

Playing the role of Vasari is the American actor, but long active in Italy, Brutius Selby. Daniele Monterosi instead plays the role of Alessandro de’ Medici, while Dino Santoro is Lorenzino de’ Medici and Livia Filippi plays the part of Clementina, the artist’s model. Wearing Michelangelo’s robes instead is Allan Caister Pearce, while the very young artist Giambattista Cungi, mentioned by Vasari in his Lives, is played by Michael Natelle. The film was produced in 2016 and runs 90 minutes. Produced by Format srl, it will be distributed by Zenit Distribution.

“The greatest difficulties, for the making of the film, were overcome by choosing buildings that predate the time in which Vasari lived and were easily adaptable to the set design referable to him,” explained director Luca Verdone, who has won multiple awards for his work as a documentary filmmaker (he received, among others, the Nastro d’Argento in 1981 and 2013 and the Nastro alla carriera in 2012, the first prize at the Castelfranco Veneto International Festival of Film on Art in 1989, the Flaiano International Prize in 2013 and the Petrolini Prize in 2017). “The collaboration with the crew, which revealed from the beginning a full understanding of the contents of the script and the style I wanted to follow for the making of this film, was then brought to excellence thanks to the photography of Gianluca Gallucci.” Release dates are not yet known.

Here are some stills from the film:

Frame from the film The Memoirs of Giorgio Vasari

Still frame from the film The Memoirs of Giorgio Vasari

Frame from the film The Memoirs of Giorgio Vasari

Frame from the film The Memoirs of Giorgio Vasari

Giorgio Vasari's memoirs at the cinema: world premiere of Luca Verdone's film presented

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