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

Birth of St John the Baptist (detail)

1486-90
Fresco
Cappella Tornabuoni, Santa Maria Novella, Florence

Here a beautiful unknown woman from the donor's immediate circle is looking at us. She is holding a small cloth in her hands, which are elegantly clasped in front of her stomach, and dressed in a gentle pink, a hue picked up in her cheeks. Two women wearing white head-dresses accompany her; the elder is probably the donor's sister, Lucrezia Tornabuoni, who died before the picture was painted. She was the mother of Lorenzo il Magnifico and sister of Giovanni.




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