GHIRLANDAIO, DOMENICO DEL

(Domenico di Tommaso Bigordi; 1449-1494)

Ghirlandaio was the son of a gold-smith who was noted for his ability to create gold garlands (ghirlande) worn by wealthy women, hence the nickname. Little is known of his training, though it is supposed that he learned metal-work from his father. By the 1480s his own workshop included the youngMichelangelo. Ghirlandaio catered mainly to theFlorentinemerchant community. Early in his career, his protectors were the Vespucci, who in 1471 commissioned him to decorate their funerary chapel in the Church of Ognissanti, Florence. Among thefrescoesin this chapel is theMadonna della Misericordiawho shelters in her mantle members of the patron family, including the explorer Amerigo Vespucci. In 1480, the Vespucci again approached Ghirlandaio to paint aSt.Jeromein the Ognissanti to compete withSandro Botticelli'sSt.Augustine(1480) in the same location. At the same time, Ghirlandaio painted aLast Supperin the church'srefectory, a subject he was to repeat on a number of occasions, including in 1486 in the refectory at the hostel of theSan Marco Monastery.

His reputation well established, in 1482 Ghirlandaio was called toRomeby PopeSixtus IV, along with Botticelli andPietro Perugino, to work on the wall frescoes in theSistine Chapel. Ghirlandaio contributed theCalling of Sts.Peterand Andrew, when Christ asks the saints to follow him as hisapostles. He also contributed aResurrection, destroyed to make way for Michelangelo's frescoes on theSistine ceiling(1508-1512). Upon his return to Florence, Ghirlandaio was asked by Francesco Sassetti, a wealthybanker, to decorate his family chapel at Santa Trinità with scenes from the life of his namesaint,Francis. Thealtarpiecein theSassetti Chapeldepicts the Annunciation and Adoration of the Shepherds with Francesco and his wife, Nera Corsi, kneeling at either side. In 1485-1490, Ghirlandaio painted for Giovanni Tornabuoni, related by marriage to theMedici, a series of large frescoes in the Cappella Maggiore atSanta Maria Novella, Florence, depicting scenes from the lives of theVirginandSt.John the Baptistthat include members of the Tornabuoni family. Among them, theMassacre of the Innocentsis somewhat of an anomaly in Ghirlandaio's oeuvre. While most of his work is subdued and rather dispassionate, this scene is dramatic and full of movement. Inspired by battle scenes on Roman sarcophagi, the work presents an effective contrast between the brutality of the soldiers and the desperation of the victims.

Another work by Ghirlandaio with emotional content, though not as poignant as theMassacre of the Innocents, is hisOld Man and Young Boyin the Louvre, Paris (c. 1480). The sitters in this painting have not been identified, though clearly it is a man and his grandson. Though the man's nose is deformed from rhinophyma, a condition that results in the build-up of excessive tissue, the child accepts him and shows his affection unreservedly. The honest portrayal of the figures, with every imperfection denoted, as well as the crisp landscape behind them, bears the influence of Early Netherlandish art that by now was well represented in Italian collections.

See alsoAnnunciation to the shepherds.