| Visitation | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Domenico Ghirlandaio |
| Year | 1491 |
| Medium | Tempera on panel |
| Dimensions | 172 cm× 165 cm(68 in× 65 in) |
| Location | Louvre Museum, Paris |
The Visitation is a painting by the Italian Renaissance painter Domenico Ghirlandaio, dating 1491. It is displayed in the Louvre Museum of Paris, France.
The work was commissioned by Lorenzo Tornabuoni [1] for the church later known as Santa Maria Maddalena de' Pazzi.
The Visitation refers to the meeting between St. Mary and St. Elizabeth described in the Gospel of Luke, Luke 1:39–56 . The subject was set by Ghirlandaio with a large classical arch in the background featuring a landscape in the centre. Elizabeth, wearing a wide yellow vest, is paying homage to Mary and kneeling.
The painting features numerous details, including the refraction effects of the light, which Ghirlandaio studied from Flemish paintings at Florence. Others include: the frieze decorated with pearls and shells (allusions to Mary's purity), the light veil of the Madonna, the gilt brooch decorated with pearls and a ruby in the centre (this a hint to Jesus' future Passion) which holds her cloak. The Gabinetto dei Disegni e delle Stampe of the Uffizi houses a preparatory drawing of Mary's cloak.
The two women at the sides are, as described by the inscriptions on the arch, Mary, mother of James, and Mary Salome. In the Medieval context, the two were thought to be daughters of St. Anne and thus the sisters or half-sisters of Mary. In the Gospel narrative, they are not present at the Visitation; but in some interpretations of the crucifixion narrative, they are said to have been present at the foot of the cross, and their inclusion in the painting may be intended as a reference to the crucifixion. Salome's dress is a citation of Filippo Lippi's Bartolini Tondo, which was the inspiration for numerous similarly graceful figures in works by Ghirlandaio, Botticelli and others.
Stylistic differences in the figures testifies the work of workshop assistants, perhaps Sebastiano Mainardi. On the lower right of the arch is the date MCCCCLXXXXI (1491). The city in the misty background could be a re-elaboration of Rome, as it includes a triumphal arch and the Pantheon.
Domenico di Tommaso Curradi di Doffo Bigordi, professionally known as Domenico Ghirlandaio, was an Italian Renaissance painter born in Florence. Ghirlandaio was part of the so-called "third generation" of the Florentine Renaissance, along with Verrocchio, the Pollaiolo brothers and Sandro Botticelli. Ghirlandaio led a large and efficient workshop that included his brothers Davide Ghirlandaio and Benedetto Ghirlandaio, his brother-in-law Bastiano Mainardi from San Gimignano, and later his son Ridolfo Ghirlandaio. Many apprentices passed through Ghirlandaio's workshop, including the famous Michelangelo. His particular talent lay in his ability to posit depictions of contemporary life and portraits of contemporary people within the context of religious narratives, bringing him great popularity and many large commissions.
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Visitation may refer to:
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Italian Renaissance painting is the painting of the period beginning in the late 13th century and flourishing from the early 15th to late 16th centuries, occurring in the Italian Peninsula, which was at that time divided into many political states, some independent but others controlled by external powers. The painters of Renaissance Italy, although often attached to particular courts and with loyalties to particular towns, nonetheless wandered the length and breadth of Italy, often occupying a diplomatic status and disseminating artistic and philosophical ideas.
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This article about the development of themes in Italian Renaissance painting is an extension to the article Italian Renaissance painting, for which it provides additional pictures with commentary. The works encompassed are from Giotto in the early 14th century to Michelangelo's Last Judgement of the 1530s.
The Tornabuoni Chapel is the main chapel in the church of Santa Maria Novella, Florence, Italy. It is famous for the extensive and well-preserved fresco cycle on its walls, one of the most complete in the city, which was created by Domenico Ghirlandaio and his workshop between 1485 and 1490.
The Italian Renaissance painter Domenico Ghirlandaio painted the Last Supper of Jesus three times in separate fresco paintings in or near Florence. The oldest of the three is located in the Badia di Passignano (1476). The next painting is the most famous one, painted in the refectory of the Convent of the Ognissanti (1480). The last painting is found at the Convent of San Marco (1486). The last two paintings are found in Florence itself.
The Adoration of the Magi is a painting by the Italian Renaissance master Domenico Ghirlandaio, executed around 1485–1488 and housed in the Ospedale degli Innocenti gallery in Florence, Italy. The predella, painted by Bartolomeo di Giovanni, is in the same site.
The Vocation of the Apostles is a fresco by the Italian Renaissance painter Domenico Ghirlandaio, executed in 1481–1482 and located in the Sistine Chapel, Rome. It depicts the Gospel narrative of Jesus Christ calling Peter and Andrew to become his disciples.
The Portrait of Giovanna Tornabuoni is a painting by the Italian Renaissance painter Domenico Ghirlandaio, executed in 1488 and located in the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid. The portrait was commissioned by Lorenzo Tornabuoni after his wife's death in 1488 and includes many symbolic details.
The Saint Fina Chapel is an Early Renaissance chapel in the right aisle of the Collegiate church of Santa Maria Assunta, located in San Gimignano, Tuscany, Italy. It was designed by Giuliano and Benedetto da Maiano in 1468 to enshrine the relics of Saint Fina. The side walls of the chapel are painted in fresco by Domenico Ghirlandaio with two scenes from her life, executed between 1477 and 1478.
Visitation is a tempera on panel painting usually attributed to Perugino, executed c. 1472–1473, now in the Galleria dell'Accademia in Florence. An early work by the artist from around the same time as Nativity of the Virgin, whilst he was still heavily influenced by Andrea del Verrocchio, it probably originated as part of the predella for a lost altarpiece. It shows the Visitation, with the Virgin Mary's mother Saint Anne to the left. In the left background is Francis of Assisi receiving the stigmata and in the right background is Florence's patron saint John the Baptist - this may indicate that the lost altarpiece was intended for a Franciscan monastery in Florence such as Santa Croce.
The Chiostro della Scalzo or is a cloister in Florence, Italy that originally led to a chapel once belonging to a religious company known as the Compagnia del diciplinati di San Giovanni Battista or della Passione di Cristo. The term "scalzo" makes reference to the barefoot brother who carried the Cross during its public processions.
