Detail of Francesco Sassetti and his Son Teodoro by Domenico Ghirlandaio in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, January 2022

Title: Francesco Sassetti (1421–1490) and His Son Teodoro

Artist: Domenico Ghirlandaio (Domenico Bigordi) (Italian, Florence 1448/49–1494 Florence)

Date: ca. 1488

Medium: Tempera on wood

Dimensions: Overall 33 1/4 x 25 1/8 in. (84.5 x 63.8 cm); painted surface 29 7/8 x 20 7/8 in. (75.9 x 53 cm)

Classification: Paintings

Credit Line: The Jules Bache Collection, 1949

Accession Number: 49.7.7

This dynastic portrait shows the Florentine banker Francesco Sassetti and his young son Teodoro, born in 1479. Teodoro was named after his elder brother, who died that same year. Sassetti managed the Medici banks in Avignon, Geneva, and Lyons and was an advisor to Piero de' Medici and Lorenzo the Magnificent. The combination of full face and profile gives the picture a decidedly formal quality, in keeping with its function as a commemoration of a loss and regeneration. The background shows an oratory built by Sassetti in Geneva. The head and figure of Sassetti are much repainted.

Text from: www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/436489