Francesco Sassetti had gained his wealth as a partner in the French branches of the Medici bank in Avignon and Lyon. He also spent over ten years representing the Medici bank in Genoa and occasionally in Geneva. By the end of the 1470s, Sassetti had already acquired the rights of patronage to a small side chapel, the second to the right of the choir in the Florentine church of Santa Trinitŕ. Ghirlandaio was commissioned to paint the chapel, which he decorated with frescoes with scenes from the life of St Francis of Assisi between 1483 and 1485.
Ghirlandaio also executed the altarpiece of the chapel. This altarpiece the Adoration of the Shepherds is the key work in the chapel both in subject and in artistic merit.
In the Sassetti Chapel the artist combined secular, religious, and classical themes to produce a unique masterpiece.
Summary of works by Ghirlandaio |
1. Early works (1471-73) |
2. Stories of St Fina at San Gimignano (1473-75) |
3. Frescoes in Florence and Rome (1480-84) |
4. Last Supper scenes |
5. Decoration of the Sassetti Chapel (1482-85) |
6. Frescoes in the Tornabuoni Chapel (1486-89) |
7. Panel paintings |
8. Adoration of the Magi (1488) |
9. Drawings |