Ghirlandaio, Domenico, properly Domenico di Tommaso Bigordi 1449-94
Italian painter

Born in Florence, he was apprenticed to a goldsmith, most probably his father. A metal garland-maker or 'ghirlandaio', he became a painter when he was 31, painting principally frescoes in his native city. Among these are six subjects from the life of St Francis (1485) and an altarpiece, the Adoration of the Shepherds (Florentine Academy), for the church of S Trinit�, and, in the choir of S Maria Novella, a series illustrating the lives of the Virgin and the Baptist (1490). Between 1482 and 1484 he painted for Pope Sixtus IV, in the Sistine Chapel, the fresco Christ Calling Peter and Andrew. His easel pictures include the Adoration of the Magi (1488), in the church of the Innocenti at Florence, and the Visitation of the Virgin (1491), in the Louvre, Paris. His mosaics include the Annunciation in the cathedral of Florence. The many figures in his religious scenes are beautifully characterized with faces full of expression, but his composition tends to be unimaginative and the grouping formal and repetitive. His workis of great historical value for its detailed portrayal ofcostume and of domestic features. He was assisted by his brothers David (1452-1525) and Benedetto (1458-97).