GHIRLANDAIO, Domenico
(b. 1449, Firenze, d. 1494, Firenze)

St Stephen (detail)

1490-94
Tempera on wood, 191 x 56 cm (full painting)
Szépművészeti Múzeum, Budapest

On the wings in Berlin and Munich the emotional gestures of the saints shown and the lighter, more relaxed portrayal differ from the character of Ghirlandaio's authentic works, and also the technique of oil painting employed in parts of the work is not typical of him. On the other hand, the panel in Budapest, both in its approach to form and its technical execution, stands very close to the work of the elder Ghirlandaio. The heavily cascading, harshly plastic folds of the martyred saint's habit, the cheerful composure of his face, the organically articulated forms which present sharp but nevertheless very subtle contours in the strong light, and the radiant colours all point to Domenico having worked on the painting himself. Very likely he sketched this figure of unaffected elegance standing in his ornate niche with a natural simplicity and modestly bearing the marks of his stoning, and it was he who painted the face.