Francesco Sassetti (1421–1490) and His Son Teodoro

(Please understand that I do not know if what I have is an original or not. It was given to my family from Malcolm Forbes many decades ago. I have limited provenance on the painting)

Artist:

Domenico Ghirlandaio (Domenico Bigordi) 

(Italian, Florence 1448/49–1494 Florence)

Date:

Circa. 1488

Medium:

Tempera on wood

Dimensions:

Overall 33 1/4 x 25 1/8 in. (84.5 x 63.8 cm);

 painted surface 29 7/8 x 20 7/8 in. (75.9 x 53 cm)

Classification:

Paintings

 

This dynastic portrait shows the Florentine banker Francesco Sassetti (1421–1490) and his young son Teodoro, who was born in 1479. He was named after his elder brother, who died that same year. Sassetti managed the Medici banks in Avignon, Geneva, and Lyons and was an advisor to Piero de' Medici and Lorenzo the Magnificent. The combination of full face and profile gives the picture a decidedly formal quality, in keeping with its function as a commemoration of a loss and regeneration. The background shows an oratory built by Sassetti in Geneva. The same building recurs in the magnificent frescoes painted by Ghirlandaio for Sassetti in Santa Trinita, Florence, between 1483 and 1486. 

 

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