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Ascanio Condivi | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1525 |
| Died | 10 December 1574(1574-12-10) (aged 48–49) Menocchia |
| Occupation | Painter andwriter |
| Relatives |
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Ascanio Condivi (1525 – 10 December 1574) was an Italian painter and writer. Generally regarded as a mediocre artist, he is primarily remembered as thebiographer ofMichelangelo.
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The son of Latino Condivi and Vitangela de' Ricci, Ascanio Condivi was a nobleman born in the town ofRipatransone in theMarche.
He moved toRome inc. 1545, where he became an acquaintance of Michelangelo. In 1553 he publishedVita di Michelagnolo [sic] Buonarroti,[1] an authorised account of Michelangelo's life over which his subject had complete control. TheVita was partly a rebuttal of hostile rumours that were being perpetuated about the artist, namely that he was arrogant, avaricious, jealous of other artists, and reluctant to take on pupils. It also served to correct inaccuracies Michelangelo found in the fawning biography of him inGiorgio Vasari'sVite de' più eccellenti pittori, scultori, ed architettori ("Lives of the most excellent painters, sculptors and architects"), which was later revised considerably by Vasari in the wake of Condivi's biography. Condivi'sVita denies that Michelangelo was indebted to any other artist and claims that he was self-taught (he was in fact a pupil ofDomenico Ghirlandaio). Also, much is made of his supposed descent from theCounts of Canossa, although this belief of Michelangelo's was utterly unfounded. Due to its literary qualities some scholars believe that the poetAnnibale Caro had a hand in the writing of theVita.
After the publication of theVita Condivi returned to Ripatransone, where he undertook civic duties, married, and devoted himself to painting religious subjects. One of these paintings, the unfinished and ambiguously themedHoly Family and other figures (now in theCasa Buonarroti,Florence), relied completely for its composition on acartoon provided by Michelangelo. The cartoon, known as theEpifania as it was once erroneously believed to depict theEpiphany, is now housed in theBritish Museum,London.
Condivi died on 10 December 1574, because of a sudden flood while fording thetorrentMenocchia [it], down the valley north of his birth town.
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