Dolce's 'Aretino' and Venetian Art Theory of the Cinquecento

Ludovico Dolce's Dialogo della pittura first appeared in Venice in 1557. L'Aretino, by which the work is known today, consists of a three-part dialogue between two Venetians, Aretino and Fabrini, on the particular merits of works of art and artists, including Michaelangelo, Raphael, and Donatello. It is based largely on Aretino's letters. The edition is presented in the original Italian with English facing-page translation. This study of early art criticism serves to reveal something of how aesthetics were judged based on classical sources (especially Aristotle) and contemporary writers like Vasari.