Nativity and Adoration of the Shepherds
Carried out between 1483 and 1485, the altarpiece from the Sassetti Chapel in the Church of Santa Trinita in Florence, is a companion to the splendid fresco cycle commissioned by the banker, Francesco Sassetti, to adorn the chapel that would hold his tomb and that of his wife Nara. The cycle was carried out following a precise iconography, devised by the humanists Agnolo Poliziano and Bartolomeo Fonzio. Dense with symbolic details, the Santa Trinita altarpiece unquestionably belongs to the Florentine humanistic culture of the Laurentian period.
In the background two cities, identified as Jerusalem (on the right) and Rome (in the center), are seen; in the central scene there is an ancient sarcophagus on which there is Fulvio’s prophecy, which predicted that a god would arise from the tomb that held his mortal remains, a clear reference to Christianity’s triumph over paganism. The figure of the thistle finch in the foreground is also clearly a Christian allusion, a symbol of the passion and resurrection of Christ. But earthly references are also present, in particular, those tied to the patrons’ family. The stones in the foreground, in fact, recall the emblem of the Sassetti family, whose members, Francesco and Nara, have moreover been identified in the praying shepherds depicted in the fresco cycle surrounding the altarpiece.
The Altarpiece of the Sassetti Chapel can be
considered one of Domenico Ghirlandaio’s most
significant works in which the Master fully expressed
his sharp sense of color, great talent as a drawer and
portraitist, as well as his deep knowledge of
humanistic symbolism, also influenced by the northern
European style introduced in Florence by the Portinari
Triptych of Hugo van der Goes.
Domenico Ghirlandaio, Nativity and Adoration of the Shepherds, 1485; painting on a wooden panel, 167 x 167 cm. Florence, Basilica of Santa Trinita, Sassetti Chapel