Domenico Ghirlandaio

Born Domenico di Tommaso Curradi di Doffo Bigordi in Florence on 2 June 1448, he became Ghirlandaio professionally and rose alongside Verrocchio, the Pollaiolo brothers, and Botticelli as part of the so-called third generation of the Florentine Renaissance. He ran a large, efficient workshop with his brothers Davide and Benedetto, his brother-in-law Bastiano Mainardi, and later his son Ridolfo - a factory of frescoes and altarpieces that trained a parade of apprentices, Michelangelo among them. His signature move was slipping contemporary Florentines and everyday city life into religious narratives without breaking the spell, a trick that won him popularity and steady work. He died on 11 January 1494, leaving behind walls full of faces that were both devotional and documentary.