In Ghirlandaio’s _Visitation_ (No. 1321) the Virgin, her conventional
robes fastened by a morse such as this goldsmith-painter repeatedly
introduced into his pictures, stoops to greet St. Elizabeth. On the
left is Mary Cleophas, and from the right Mary Salome trips lightly on
to the scene. As always in a painting of this subject, the principal
figures are silhouetted against the arch in the background, through
which the sky is seen. Characteristic of Ghirlandaio’s paintings is the
jewelled architecture which bears the date 1491, three years previous
to his death. The Catalogue suggests that this large picture was
finished by either Davide or Benedetto, the brothers and assistants
of Domenico, but it is possible that his brother-in-law, Bastiano
Mainardi, may have worked on it. The French, having pointed out to the
Duke of Tuscany in 1815 that Florence possessed many better examples of
this painter’s art, were allowed to retain this panel picture, which
had been brought in 1806 from the Church of S. Maria Maddalena dei
Pazzi at Florence.
The delightful _Portrait of an Old Man and his Grandson_ (No. 1322,
Plate III.), which is usually known as _The Bottle-nosed Man_, is an
admirable study from life. The winsome attitude of the little boy and
the refined expression of the old man are very pleasing. It is an
incontrovertible, but perhaps not obvious, fact that mere physiological
ugliness can in the hands of an accomplished artist be transformed into
a medium of beauty. The picture has unfortunately been damaged, notably
in the forehead of the principal figure. The certainty of touch and the
delicacy of the modelling indicate that this panel belongs to the last
period of the artist’s activity, when he also executed the magnificent
_Portrait of Giovanna degli Albizzi_, now in the collection of Mr. J.
Pierpont Morgan.
One of Domenico’s brothers, Benedetto Ghirlandaio (1458-1497) is
credited with a _Christ on the Way to Calvary_ (No. 1323). His own
son, Ridolfo (1483-1561), painted the _Coronation of the Virgin_ (No.
1324) in 1503, the date being inscribed on the panel. Mainardi (fl.
1482-1513), the brother-in-law, pupil, and imitator of Domenico,
painted many pictures which usually pass under the name of his more
illustrious relation. This pupil has painted in the tondo of the
_Madonna and Child_ (No. 1367) a morse somewhat similar to that seen
in the _Visitation_ (No. 1321). In this same group of artists must be
placed a nameless assistant of Domenico. His pictures have been grouped
by Mr. Berenson, who calls him by the descriptive name of “Alunno di
Domenico,” and tentatively identifies him with Bartolommeo di Giovanni,
of whom very little is known. Alunno di Domenico is thus credited with
having executed the companion pictures (No. 1416A and No. 1416B) of
the _Nuptials of Thetis and Peleus_, a pagan subject which suggests
the advent of the decadence in Florentine art. These two panels are
officially catalogued under the name of Piero di Cosimo.