The Venetian Masterpiece by Giorgio Vasari

A heroic long-term project to reunite panels of allegorical figures made for the ceiling of a Renaissance palace's grand room

Published to coincide with their extraordinary reassembly, this volume recounts the intricate story of the reconstruction and remounting of ceiling panels painted by the celebrated Italian Renaissance painter, architect, art historian and biographer Giorgio Vasari (1511-74) for Venice's Palazzo Corner Spinelli.

Realized in a 1542 commission, Vasari completed a series of panels of allegorical figures for the ceiling of the palace's grand room. Various elements of the decorative structure were removed from their original location over the course of the 18th century, and by the 19th century the works were completely dispersed. This lavishly illustrated publication retraces the critical fortunes and history of the panels up until their reunion and mounting in their current location, explores the restoration of the work, discusses the iconological interpretation of the ceiling and takes a close look at the preparatory drawings of the panels.