GHIRLANDAIO, DOMENICO

(ca. 1449-1494)

Florentinepainter best known for the cycle of fresco paintings executed late in his career in the church of Santa Maria Novella. These frescoes are notable for their portrayal of his contemporaries and for depicting details from ordinary Florentine life. He headed a large workshop with a number of apprentices, of whom the most famous wasMichelangelo. Ghirlandaio was one of the most popular painters of the last quarter of the 15th century and executed commissons from many wealthy Florentine families.