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

Adoration of the Magi (detail)

1488
Tempera on wood
Spedale degli Innocenti, Florence

Ghirlandaio (second from the right) gazes out at us from this picture, more modestly than in his other self-portrait (like in the Tornabuoni Chapel or in the Sassetti Chapel). It is thought that the churchman dressed in black in front of him is the man who commissioned the panel painting, Francesco di Giovanni Tesori.

Above these two portraits, the Slaughter of the Innocents in Bethlehem is shown. The town beyond this, in which we can see monuments such as the Colosseum, Trajan's Column, the Torre del Milizie, and a pyramid, is meant to be reminiscent of Rome.




© Web Gallery of Art, created by Emil Krén and Daniel Marx.