Home	Domenico Ghirlandaio: The Life of Domenico Veneziano [d. c.1461], Painter
	Domenico Ghirlandaio ( 1449-1494) marks the completion of the naturalistic narrative style of Fra Filippo Lippi in monumental form and is the most popular fresco painter of the late Quattrocento. Domenico di Tommaso Bigordi, called Ghirlandaio (or Grillandajo), was born in 1449 (from the tax declarations of his grandfather in 1457 and his father in 1480) and began his training, according to Vasari, in the goldsmith shop of his father. According to the Ricordi of Francesco Baldovinetti, he also worked in the studio of Baldovinetti. In his earliest known frescos the influence both of Baldovinetti (in Ognissanti) and of Verrocchio (in the church of Sant' Andrea at Brozzi) is discernible. Vasari mentions particularly his interest and technical skill in making drawings from ancient monuments and architectural ruins in Rome. Domenico's active life and artistic development can easily be followed in the long list of documented frescos and altars, executed in large part with the aid of numerous assistants which included his brothers, Davide (14521525) and Benedetto ( 1458-97), as well as Bartolommeo di Giovanni ( Alunno di Domenico) and his brother-in-law, Sebastiano Mainardi. These works include: (1) the frescos of the Baptism and the Madonna Enthroned with Saints Sebastian and Julian in Sant' Andrea, Brozzi, near Florence (ca. 1470); (2) the Madonna della Misericordia with the portraits of the Vespucci family and the Pietà below it in the Vespucci Chapel of the church of Ognissanti, Florence ( 1472-73) ; (3) the frescos in the Chapel of St. Fina in the Collegiata of San Gimignano ( 1475) representing the Vision and Funeral of St. Fina, and figures of the Evangelists, Prophets, and Church Fathers in the vaults (these probably executed by Mainardi); (4) the fragmentary decorations of philosophers and prophets executed ca. 1475 with his brother Davide for the library of Pope Sixtus IV in Rome; (5) the damaged fresco (ca. 1476) of the Last Supper in the Badia of Passignano, near Florence; (6) the lost decorations ( 1477-78) of the burial chapel of Giovanni Francesco Tornabuoni in Santa Maria Sopra Minerva in Rome, described at length by Vasari; (7) the frescos, again with the help of assistants in the Badia of Settimo ( 1479), San Donato at Polverosa ( 1480), and a destroyed Last Supper in the Camaldolite monastery in Florence; (8) the famous frescos ( 1480) of the Last Supper in the refectory and St. Jerome in the nave (formerly in the transept) of Ognissanti in Florence; (9) the decorations of the Sistine Chapel in Rome, undertaken (contract October 27, 1481) with Botticelli, Rosselli, and Perugino, of which the Calling of the First Apostles, a Resurrection (later destroyed), some six of the Pope figures (particularly the St. Victor), and probably the Drowning of Pharaoh (sometimes associated with Cosimo Rosselli) are executed by Ghirlandaio and his helpers; (10) the large Glory of St. Zenobius ( 1482-83) in the Palazzo Vecchio, Florence, painted mostly by an unidentified pupil of Ghirlandaio's; (11) the scenes from the Life of St. Francis in the Sassetti Chapel of Santa Trinità ( 1485) with the portraits of Francesco and Nera Sassetti; (12) Ghirlandaio's most important work, the decoration of the choir of Santa Maria Novella with scenes from the lives of the Virgin and John the Baptist for Giovanni Tornabuoni to replace the damaged frescos by Orcagna (contract of September 15, 1485, listed the scenes to be represented and required their completion within four years of the commencement time, which was to be in May 1486). A number of mosaics were executed by the shop: the Annunciation for the Porta della Mandorla ( 1490), and those of the St. Zanobi Chapel ( 1491) of the Cathedral of Florence, as well as designs for the faqade of the cathedral. Also in this late period (ca. 1491) were executed the designs and drawings of the Codex Escurialensis, which include innumerable decorative motifs probably copied by pupils from Ghirlandaio's own drawings. On Domenico's death, January 11, 1494, the shop was continued under Davide's direction. The origin and character of Ghirlandaio's style may be followed in the early works. Verrocchio's influence is apparent in the animated poses of the figures in the Brozzi frescos, particularly that of St. Sebastian. The Baptism of Christ in the same church appears to be based on Verrocchio's panel in the Uffizi, perhaps through a compositional study from Verrocchio's shop in which Ghirlandaio is assumed to have worked. The hard drawing of the kneeling portrait figures in the Vespucci frescos suggests Castagno (cf. also Piero della Francesca's Misericordia Madonna); the gentle character and tall proportions of the Madonna della Misericordia is reminiscent of Baldovinetti. Ghirlandaio's solution to the traditional problems of a narrative genre-like content in a monumental composition is given in the St. Fina frescos of San Gimignano, particularly the Funeral scene. The comparison with Lippi's frescos in Prato and Gozzoli's funeral scene in Sant' Agostino in this same town will show the greater ease and dignity with which Ghirlandaio is able to combine figures and architecture into a monumental Lamentation theme as well as a natural and recognizable scene (cf. the gentle, realistic faces and poses, the well-known towers of San Gimignano in the background at the sides). The Last Supper (1480) in the refectory of Ognissanti is based on Castagno's composition in Sant' Appollonia. Similarities may be seen in the alignment of Christ and the eleven disciples behind the table, John leaning on His shoulder, and Judas separated in front of the table. The characteristic corrections of the earlier form are to be noted in the greater feeling of space and life produced by the more prominent tiled floor and perspective in the foreground, enclosed by the U-shaped table, the freer modeling of figures in the space through the use of light and shade (note the shadows cast from the left arm of the table and cast on the wall behind the figures), the greater and more conversational animation through the naturalistic gestures of the apostles, the carefully observed still life on the table, the parapet wall with the open sky, birds and trees showing behind it, and particularly the closer relationship of the mural composition with the architecture into which it is built (note the composition of the scene with the vaulting and the fact that the Last Supper covers the entire wall rather than several scenes and box-like arrangement used by Castagno). While somewhat restored and painted over, the fresco seems to be largely the work of Domenico himself. A weak variation of this, executed by the shop, decorates the refectory of San Marco. The St. Jerome in the same church, a counterpart to the St. Augustine of Botticelli, is iconographically interesting, in keeping with the period, for its interpretation of the saint as a studious scholar (cf. similar contemplative portraits of earlier periods, e.g., Tommaso da Modena) seated in his study with an elaborate and naturalistic still life of scholarly attributes about him. Its love of detail and observation of nature is closely associated with the Flemish tradition going back to the Van Eycks. Of Ghirlandaio's frescos in the Sistine Chapel the scene representing the Calling of the First Apostles, with the blessing of Peter and Andrew in the center, Christ preaching to the two fishermen at the left (in the middleground), and their coming to the shore at the right, is the most famous. Characteristic is the narrative sequence of scenes with the important one in the center, the arrangement of figures in frieze-like groups, the realistic characterization of faces (probably portraits of members of the Florentine colony in Rome), the detailed depiction of the river landscape with its atmospheric recession into the distance (cf. Masolino's Baptism of Christ in Castiglione d' Olona). The two most important fresco projects are those of the Sassetti Chapel (consecrated December 25, 1485) in Santa Trinità and in the choir of Santa Maria Novella (contracted for on September 1, 1485, already before completion of the Sassetti series; the choir chapel was opened December 22, 1490). The former depict six scenes from the life of St. Francis: on the walls, St. Francis Receiving the Stigmata, the Raising of the Child from the House of Spini, the Funeral of the Saint; and in the lunettes above them, Francis Renouncing his Father, Pope Honorius Sanctions the Rules of the Order, the Ordeal by Fire before the Sultan. On the vaults are four figures of sibyls; outside over the entrance is the Sassetti coat of arms and Augustus with the Tiburtian Sibyl. On either side of the altar wall, flanking the altar with its Adoration of the Shepherds panel (also painted in 1485 for this altar) are kneeling fresco portraits of Francesco Sassetti and his wife, Nera Corsi. Domenico's own hand is to be seen in the Resuscitation of the Child (containing portraits of Maso degli Albizzi, Agniolo Acciaiuoli, Palla Strozzi, and, at the extreme right, the artist's self-portrait) and especially in the scene of the Pope Sanctioning the Order. Aside from the dignified posing and composition, the attempt to animate the traditional Franciscan theme (cf. Giotto's series in Assisi, also Gozzoli's in Montefalco) with recognizable contemporary associations can be seen in the architectural vista in the background (the Florentine Piazza della Signoria with the Palazzo Vecchio and the Loggia dei Lanzi) and the portraits: at the right Lorenzo Magnifico between Francesco Sassetti and Antonio Pucci; at the left Sassetti's three sons; and ascending the steps in front toward Lorenzo, the poet Angelo Poliziano accompanied by Lorenzo's sons, together with Matteo Franco and Luigi Pulci. The parallel compositions of Poliziano ascending the steps toward Lorenzo, and St. Francis ascending the steps of the papal throne have their counterpart in the implied content, i.e., the scientific-humanistic cultural atmosphere about Lorenzo and his court as a parallel to the Franciscan humanism of the earlier epoch. The other frescos appear to be carried out largely by Davide and Mainardi on Domenico's designs. Perhaps the best of the series (and one of the latest), executed very likely by Domenico himself, is the Birth of Mary, which also has the signature Bighordi-Grillandai on the decorative panels of the back wall. Others of comparable quality are the Expulsion of Joachim, the Visitation, and the Birth of John. Various characteristics of the total style which might be noted in relationship with earlier works of this tradition, not only by Ghirlandaio but also going back to Gozzoli and Fra Filippo Lippi, are: the emphasis on highly decorative and impressive architectural settings; the rhythmical distribution of figures and groups in these settings; the growing tendency to emphasize movement in the figures, which is due not alone to the subject matter (i.e., the Expulsion of Joachim) but for its own sake, as can be seen in the design of drapery, pose of figures, and their group compositions; the inclusion of familiar architectural or landscape vistas, such as the court and façade of the Innocenti Hospital in the background of the Expulsion of Joachim, the panorama view of Florence as seen from San Miniato al Monte in the Visitation; the inclusion of various genre motifs for compositional purposes (e.g., the two figures peering over the wall in the Visitation, used in a manner similar to the Flemish painters such as Van Eyck's Madonna with Nicholas Rolin in the Louvre); the persistence of portrait figures, such as the self-portrait, those of his father and brothers in the Expulsion of Joachim from the Temple, the elegant portrait of Giovanna degli Albizzi, wife of Lorenzo , in the Birth of John scene. Along with the many assistants who worked with Ghirlandaio, Michelangelo and Francesco Granacci are sometimes assumed to have taken part in this project. The more important artists active in Domenico's shop, to whom many of the inferior sections of both frescos and panels are attributed by stylistic analyses, include his two brothers, Davide ( 1452-1525) and Benedetto ( 1458-97), the anonymous master of St. Sebastian (so-called after the panel of St. Sebastian and St. Rochus in Pisa), to whom a large part of the Drowning of Pharaoh in the Sixtina is attributed, Bartolommeo di Giovanni (sometimes identified with Alunno di Domenico), and Sebastiano Mainardi (d. 1513). Ghirlandaio's son Ridolfo ( 1483-1561) continues in Florence largely under the influence of his father's shop and Fra Bartolommeo.