Domenico Ghirlandaio

The nickname 'Ghirlandaio' (garland-maker) came from his father, a goldsmith famous for creating metallic headdresses. As a youth, Domenico showed talent by capturing the likenesses of passers-by at his father's shop.¹

In 1481, Pope Sixtus IV summoned him to Rome to join a team of painters for the Sistine Chapel. He painted 'The Vocation of the Apostles,' solidifying his status as a leading Florentine master.¹

Commissioned by Francesco Sassetti of the Medici bank, he painted the Life of St. Francis in the Sassetti Chapel. The work includes portraits of the patron, Lorenzo de' Medici, and Lorenzo's children.¹

He was profoundly influenced by Hugo van der Goes's 'Portinari Altarpiece.' He adopted the Flemish naturalism seen in the depiction of shepherds, integrating this realism into his own Florentine style.¹

He excelled more in mural frescoes than panel paintings. Contemporary accounts described him as a 'good painter on panel and better in mural fresco,' noting his active and highly creative nature.¹

In the Tornabuoni Chapel, he created a massive fresco cycle featuring no fewer than twenty-one portraits of the Tornabuoni family, serving as a magnificent record of the era's prominent citizens.¹

Born in 1448, he is considered part of the 'third generation' of the Florentine Renaissance alongside Verrocchio and Botticelli. He remained active until his death at age 45 in 1494.¹