Domenico Ghirlandaio
(1449-1494)
Early Italian Renaissance Painter from Florence
Ghirlandaio operated a successful workshop where many great artists have trained and he is accredited as one of Michelangelo’s teachers. He was a master in fresco and was commissioned to do work in the Sistine Chapel amongst other chapels in his lifetime.
Ghiralandaio’s most prominent patrons were the Medici family and Tornabuoni family. They gravitated towards the way Ghiralandaio pleasantly depicted scenes of the times and maybe for the way he idealized people for beauty’s sake in his works.
Portrait of Giovanna Tornabuoni – 1489-90 
Francesco Sassetti and His Son Teodoro – 1487
He was also known to incorporate portraits of his contemporaries in many biblical scenes which made him even more popular amongst the rich Florentines who wanted to see themselves immortalized this way. He even incorporated hints of ancient art in the backgrounds just to appeal to their tastes.
His works were notably colourful and vivid, mirroring the fashionable, well-decorated lives of rich Florentines in his patronage. He somehow manages to not overuse colour to a point of garishness . It seems obvious that he knew what would catch the attention of the patrons he wanted and created works that would appease them and keep his business thriving. While some may see his work as a bit overindulgent to suit the tastes of the rich, it shows that he had business sensibilities and knew what he was doing to create works that would be attractive and beautiful and who could deny liking that?
References
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Domenico-Ghirlandaio
http://www.travelingintuscany.com/art/ghirlandaio/giovannatornabuoni.htm
https://issuu.com/workinmann/docs/the_story_of_art_by_e.h.gombrich__z-lib.org
One reply on “Late Gothic-Early Renaissance”
Tiffany,
Nice work on Ghirlandaio here! Some good research and writing interspersed with your own personal feelings and ideas. I like how you characterized him as wishing to please his patrons (clients we would say now) with flattering approaches in his work. Seems quite the opposite of, say, Michaelangelo.
Jeff