Giorgio Vasari was a painter, draughtsman, architect, writer and art collector. His most famous and influential work to date is the chronologically ordered encyclopedia of artist biographies Le vite de più eccellenti pittori, scultori e architettori. His 133 biographies of artists from the early Renaissance to Vasari's contemporaries not only cover the life and work of the artists, but are also sorted according to their historical art style. Vasari was the first to use the terms Renaissance and Gothic in their current sense. He is therefore often called “the first art historian". Vasari's artistic talent was recognised very early and at the age of thirteen, he was already employed at the Medici court in Florence. Vasari travelled through Italy and received commissions for frescoes in many cities. He also worked as a painter and illustrator. In 1554, he entered the service of Cosimo I de' Medici, Duke of Florence. For him, he extended the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence into a ruler's residence and, as an architect, planned the Uffizi Gallery as well as the Vasari Corridor named after him. This passageway today houses the collection of self-portraits.