\b0 Tommaso Bigordi, a goldsmith and father of Domenico,
was the one to be nicknamed Ghirlandaio, and the nickname was passed on to his son. According to Vasari, the name was given to the father because he manufactured rare and precious ornamental garlands (\i ghirlanda\i0 ) to embellish the clothes of Florent
ine women. A pupil of Alesso Baldovinetti, Domenico and his brothers Davide and Benedetto soon set up a very busy workshop which, especially after he had decorated the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican, became one of the leading workshop studios of Florence.
Open to the suggestions of Flemish naturalism with its love of detail, but also to the classical models, Ghirlandaio was skillful in organizing his compositions around a pleasant narrative. His luminous style brought life to figures in sacred scenes whi
ch he placed against a background of Renaissance society. Narrative interest in the locations and costumes of the time is one of the features of his major paintings and make Ghirlandaio a faithful interpreter of the happiest and most splendid period of t
he Florence of the Medici, where he was the favorite painter of the most important aristocratic families. His most important works include altar pieces, a series of keen portraits and two famous fresco cycles in the churches of Santa Maria Novella and Sa
