Cosimo Bartoli

Cosimo Bartoli (December 20, 1503 in Florence – October 25, 1572) was an Italian diplomat, mathematician, philologist, and humanist.

He was a friend of architect and writer Giorgio Vasari, and helped him to get his Vite ready for publication.

[1] Bartoli worked in diplomatic circles, including as secretary to Cardinal Giovanni de’ Medici and as diplomatic agent for Duke Cosimo I. Bartoli wrote Ragionamenti accademici (Venice, 1567), which was mainly a criticism of Dante.

He cited the composers Johannes Ockeghem and Josquin des Prez as equal to Donatello and Michelangelo in their respective arts, and stated that Ockeghem and Donatello were the precursors to Josquin and Michelangelo.

In this book he also critiques architecture and painting, mainly focusing on the arts of his native Florence.

Portrait of Bartoli by the school of Titian , first half of the 16th century
Le piante, le provincie, le prospettive, e tutte le altre cose terrene , 1564