Portrait of an old man with a grandson, Domenico Ghirlandaio, 1488

Description of the picture:

Portrait of an old man with a grandson – Domenico Ghirlandaio. 1488. Wood, tempera. 62×46   IN “Portrait of an old man with a grandson”, whose identities remained unknown, Domenico Ghirlandaio (1449-1494), a painter of the Early Renaissance, a representative of the Florentine school, strove for a realistic and truthful depiction of his own models. Touching is the image of a little boy with golden curls knocking out from under a reddish hat, clinging to his grandfather in the hope of finding either protection or an answer to a question that tormented him. The painter did not flatter the old-grandfather. He depicted his ugly face without embellishment, but his gaze turned to the child, full of love and tenderness, assigns spirituality to his face. An “ideal landscape” is shown in an open window, suitable for Renaissance painting: a plain with a river ribbon, hillocks and mountains towering in the distance. The affairs of the heroes are just as magnificent and harmonious as nature is magnificent and peaceful.   “Portrait of an Old Man with a Grandson” entered the Louvre in 1886."