Giorgio Vasari

“ Domenico, son of Tommaso del Ghirlandajo, who, by the pre-eminence of his talents and the importance and number of his works, is entitled to be placed among the first and most excellent masters of his time, was formed by nature to be a painter, and followed the bent of his disposition, notwithstanding the determination to the contrary of those who had him in charge. ”

“ Of all the stories we have by Domenico Ghirlandajo, this is certainly the best, since it is executed with great judgment, ability, and art. The impious determination of those who kill those poor children at the command of Herod, without regard to the mothers, is rendered most clearly visible: among the babes is one, still hanging to the breast of the mother, while it'is dying of wounds received in its throat, so that it sucks, not to say drinks, blood no less than milk from the breast ”

“ Impediments thus offered to the inclinations of youth, frequently nip the most promising fruits of genius in the bud, by compelling the attention to an illsuited employment, and forcibly turning it from the vocation to which there is a natural impulse; but Domenico, obeying the instinct of his nature, as we have said, obtained for himself the highest honours, secured great advantage to art, as well as to his kindred, and his contemporaries ”

“ Tommaso del Gliirlandajo was the first who invented and made those ornaments worn on the head by the young girls of Florence, and called garlands (ghirlande) , [3] whence Tommaso acquired the name of Ghirlandajo. Yet not for being the first inventor only, but also on account of the vast number and extraordinary beauty of those made by him, insomuch that none could please, as it should seem, but such as came from his work-rooms. Being thus placed to learn the art of the goldsmith therefore, Domenico, whom this occupation did not satisfy, employed himself perpetually in drawing ”

“ And now if any man think this relation foreign to the life that I am writing, let not this disturb his quiet, for it chanced to present itself at the point of my pen, and if it be to no other purpose, will serve to show in what manner poverty becomes the prey of riches, and how riches, when accompanied by prudence, may attain without censure to the end desired by those who possess them. ”

“ On the vaulted ceiling of the chapel are four Sybils, and on the external wall is the story of the Tiburtine Sybil, by whom the Emperor Octavian is induced to worship Christ; a fresco of admirable execution, and exhibiting an animation of colouring which is very charming. [10] To these works Domenico added a picture in tempera, wherein is the Nativity of Christ, painted in such a manner as to astonish every one who is conversant with art; in this work is the portrait of the master himself, with certain heads of'shepherds, which are considered wonderfully fine. ”

“ On the opposite wall are stories from the Life of John the Baptist. In the first, Zacharias is seen offering sacrifice in the temple, and the angel appears to him; when he, not believing, is rendered dumb. In this picture the painter has shown that the sacrifices of those times were resorted to by the most honourable of the people; and this he has effected by placing among those offering sacrifices, the most distinguished citizens of Florence, portrayed from those who then governed that state, more particularly the members of the Tornabuoni family, old and young. ”

“ Domenico is said to have possessed so accurate an eye, that when making drawings from the various antiquities of Rome, as triumphal arches, baths, columns, colossal figures, obelisks, amphitheatres, and aqueducts, he did all by the eye, using neither rule, nor compass, nor instruments of any kind ”

“ The master, without doubt, deserves infinite commendation on all accounts, but most of all for the animation of the heads, which, being portrayed from nature, present to all who see them the most lively similitudes of many distinguished persons.
For the same Giovanni Tomabuoni, Domenico painted a chapel at his villa of the Casso Maccherelli, situate at no great distance from the city, on the river Terzolle, but which has since been destroyed by the encroachments of the torrent ”

“ In the countenance of Our Lady, more particularly, there is the manifestation of all the modesty, grace and beauty that can be imparted to the Mother qf the Son of God by the painter’s art. [14] There is likewise a work by this master in the church of San Marco, in the middle aisle, with a Last Supper in the strangers’ refectory of the cloister, both executed with much care. [15] In the palace of Giovanni Tornabuoni, Domenico painted the Adoration of the Magi, also very carefully executed. ”

“ According to the latter, Joachim, (Giovacchino) a rich man, presents the third of his possessions on the altar; but on a certain occasion, his gift is rejected by the high priest, because he is childless; he departs in shame and grief to the wilderness, whence he is recalled by an angel, with the promise, that his wife Anna shall bear a child. This promise is fulfilled by the birth of the Virgin. ↑ Landucci, in the MS. before cited, and Manni, Dei Sigilli, &c., affirm this to be the portrait of Tommaso, father of Domenico Ghirlandajo, and not of Alesso Baldovinetti. ”

“ This is an admirable fresco, but the cartoon was prepared by Domenico himself. At Siena, in an apartment of the Spannocchi Palace, Domenico and Bastiano painted various stories in company, the work is in fresco and the figures are small. In the cathedral of Pisa, likewise, in addition to the recess in the choir, of which I have before spoken, they adorned the whole arch of the same chapel with a numerous choir of angels: they also painted the doors which close the organ, and began to decorate the wood-work in gold. ”

“ One among them kisses the hands of the departed, and the expression in his case could not possibly be rendered more perfect by the art of the painter. There is also a bishop, in his episcopal vestments and with spectacles on his nose; he is chanting the prayers for the dead; and the fact that we do not hear him, alone demonstrates to us that he is not alive, but merely painted. [8] On each side of the altar-piece are two compartments, in one of which Domenico painted the likeness of Francesco Sassetti on his knees ”

“ IVIany citizens had offered to restore the chapel or to paint it anew, but the owners, who were then of the Ricci family, would never agree to its being done, they not having means to supply the expense themselves, nor could they resolve on yielding the chapel to others who would do it, lest they should lose their right in it, and should see their arms, which had descended to them from their ancestors, removed from the place. But Giovanni Tornabuoni, wishing much that Domenico should raise him this memorial, set to work in the matter, and sought by various devices to effect his purpose. ”

“ John is seen baptizing Christ, the reverence displayed in whose countenance clearly shows the faith which we ought to place in that sacrament, and as this did not fail to produce a great efiect, numerous figures, already unclothed and barefoot, are seen waiting to be baptized, meanwhile showing the trust they entertain and the desire they feel in their countenances: one among these figures, who is drawing off his shoe, is life and movement itself. ”

“ But Domenico did away in a great measure with those flourishes and scrolls formed with gypsum or bole and gold, which were better suited to the decorating of tapestry or hangings, than to the paintings of good masters. [12] But more beautiful than any of the other figures is that of Our Lady, who has the Child in her arms, and four little Angels around her. This picture, than which nothing better could be executed in tempera, was at that time in the church belonging to the above-named friars, without the gate which opens on the road to Pinti ”

“ There is, moreover, a soldier who has forced a child from the mother, and as he is hurrying away with it, he is killing the innocent by crushing its breast; the mother of the babe is seen hanging to his hair, which she has seized with fury, and forces him to bend back till his person forms an arch—in this group three different effects are finely displayed, one the death of the child, who is seen to expire ”

“ In Pisa he adorned the recess above the high altar in the cathedral, [37] and performed various works in different parts of the city, as, for example, at the house of the wardens, where he depicted a story on one of the walls, representing King Charles portrayed from the life, who recommends the city of Pisa to the friendly consideration of the Florentines, [38] He also painted two pictures in distemper in the church of San Girolamo, for the Frati Gesuati, [39] that of the high altar, namely, and another. ”

“ A second picture represents St. Francis, when, in the presence of the vicar, he refuses to accept the inheritance devolving on him from his father, Pietro Bernardone, and assumes the habit of penitence, wffiich he binds around him with the cord of discipline; in another compartment the same saint is depicted as proceeding to Rome, where he obtains from Pope Honorius the confirmation of his rule, and presents to that Pontiff, roses blooming in the middle of January. ”

“ Domenico has likewise shown the monks issuing from the church with the Becchim, men whose office it is to bury the dead, following the cross and proceeding to the interment; all exhibiting perfect truth to nature, as do other figures, who are expressing the amazement they feel, or the happiness they experience, from the event they have' just witnessed. In this picture are the portraits of Maso, degli Albizzi, Messer Agnolo Acciaiuoli, and Messer Palla ^ Strozzi, all eminent citizens frequently cited in the history of, Florence. ”

“ The third, with long black hair and thick lips, is Bastiano of San Gemignano, disciple and cousin of Domenico; and the fourth, who turns his back and has a cap or barett on the head, is the painter David Ghirlandajo, his brother. All these persons are said by those who knew them, to be very animated and faithful likenesses. ”