The Nativity with Saints
Medium
Oil on wood
Dimensions
Central panel 14 x 9 in. (35.6 x 22.9 cm); each wing 14 x 4 in. (35.6 x 10.2 cm)
Classification
Paintings
Department
European Paintings
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Friedsam Collection, Bequest of Michael Friedsam, 1931
Accession Number
32.100.80
Tags
About this artwork
This devotional triptych by Ridolfo Ghirlandaio (1483-1561) represents the refined religious painting that made him one of Florence's most prominent artists in the early 16th century. Son of the renowned Domenico Ghirlandaio, Ridolfo was orphaned at age eleven and raised by his uncle Davide, also a painter, before receiving additional training under Fra Bartolomeo. The central panel depicts the Nativity with either Saint Maurus or Saint Placidus kneeling in prayer, while the wings feature Saints...
Art Historical Context
Welcome to the Metropolitan Museum of Art's European Paintings gallery, where Ridolfo Ghirlandaio *The Nativity with* (ca. 1514) shines as a gem of early 16th-century Florentine devotion. This intimate oil-on-wood triptych—measuring just 14 x9 inches in the center with slender 14 x 4-inch wings—was likely commissioned for a Benedictine. The central panel captures the tender Nativity scene, with the Madonna and Child adored by angels and a kneeling Benedictine monk, possibly Saint Maurus or Placidus. Flanking wings honor saints central to monastic life: Peter, Benedict, and Christine on the lef...
About the Artist
Ridolfo Ghirlandaio · 1483–1561
Ridolfo Ghirlandaio, born Ridolfo di Domenico Bigordi on February 14, 1483, in Florence, emerged as a leading figure in the Florentine Renaissance painting tradition. The son of the renowned artist Domenico Ghirlandaio, he lost his father at age eleven in 1494 and was raised by his uncle Davide Ghirlandaio, who assumed leadership of the family workshop. Ridolfo trained initially under his father, ...