My Kid Could Paint That

Domenico Ghirlandaio, Portrait of Giovanna degli Albizzi Tornabuoni, 1488

By EMMA SHAPIRO

"Proficiency in literary form, not accompanied by broad acquaintance with facts and truths, is a barren attainment" -Leonardo Bruni

Behind family, my grandpa Al believed most in the importance of education, and he set the attainment of a quality one as a priority for his family. Brought up by his aunt, in a less fortunate family, he learned young that he must work for the knowledge that would later bring him success. After graduating from the University of Missouri, Alvin Shapiro went on to Yale Law School, where he graduated number two in his class. He sent his four kids to private high schools, followed by attendance to some of the most prestigious colleges in the country. They all graduated from college, and some graduate school  but none left with debt. He lived a humble life, unconcerned with trivial matters. Despite having money, he did not see any vitality in materialistic goods, and spent money on direct and indirect education.

Grandpa Al evoked my love and appreciation of the arts. My fondest memories of him are attending the operas and symphonies together. My papa took his pop's morals and have applied them to my life. He works constantly in order to give me what his father gave him. Beyond the high education I receive in school, I strive to broaden my knowledge with cultural involvement. My papa also believes in the importance of travel, and wherever we go we make it a point to spend plenty of time in museums. At a young age, I did not understand the art necessarily, but I understood the cultural importance and how much you can learn from art. This past summer I traveled through Europe with my family, and spent an entire 11 hour day at the museums in Madrid. The line into the Prado Museum went on for hours, so instead I started with the lesser known Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, a private collection.

The signs leading in and the brochure given to me upon entrance to the Thyssen-Bornemisza were decorated with the portrait, or profile, of Giovanna Tornabuoni, by Domenico Ghirlandaio. I had never seen this painting before, and wondered, out of all the paintings in the museum, why is this one so special?

Giovanna Tornabuoni was a member of one of the most influential families of the period. She married a man, also elevated in status, at age 18, gave birth to her first child in 1477, and in 1488, died delivering her second child. Death during labor was common for Florentine women during this period, and the women received a privileged status after death. Many paintings exist to this day depicting women who passed during childbirth, andGiovanna Tornabuoni among the most famous. Her husband and father commissioned Florentine artist, Domenico Ghirlandaio, to paint her shortly after death. Ghirlandaio presents her upright and well decorated, with the latin words "Art, if only you were able to portray character and soul, no painting on earth would be more beautiful" showing her high status, and strong disposition.

This painting not only exemplifies fifteenth century Florentine portraiture, but dives deeper into the role of women in fifteenth century life, and shows the importance of money and status. Obvious by her family's wealth and influence, Giovanna had an education. But as you look closer in the painting you wonder, was she truly educated to the standards of Leonardo Bruni, or do you need more than purely an education to acquire knowledge?

Ghirlandaio, Portrait of a Young Girl, 1490

Domenico Ghirlandaio, while not always an exceptional artist, loved to paint and to make people happy. He is said to have accepted every project that came to him in his workshop. He made an effort to complete all works by himself and rarely used the help of his apprentices, one of whom was Michelangelo.

This painting, Portrait of a Young Girl, was painted in 1490 not for a chapel or a famous family but for this young girl. He knew he would not become famous over a work like this, but did not care for fame but instead to please his customers.

Domenico Ghirlandaio was born Domenico di Tommaso di Currado di Doffo Bigordi. Him and his brothers changed their names to Ghirlandaio when they became famous for making hair garlands for young Florentine girls. Ghirlandaio is an adaptation of garland-maker in Italian. This young Florentine girl is wearing one of these hair garlands.

Domenico Ghirlandaio, Sketch of the Colosseum. 1400s

I know this is not a painting, nor is this Ghirlandaio's most famous work, but it captures what type of artist he was and how he was not an impostor or fake.

It was said that Ghirlandaio was an expert at sketching without a ruler or compass. This is not typical of most painters or artists of this time. He was able to work with just his eyes and did not need to measure his subject. He sketched objects such as columns, birds, amphitheaters, and arches.  These were all studied and found to be perfect in proportion. Sometimes he would even sketch a little person next to his subject so the viewer can see that the proportions were perfectly even.

This sketch of the Colosseum is very impressive. Compared to a picture from now you can see no difference in the location of cracks, archways, and windows. It looks as if he used a ruler or a compass to get the measurements exact, but when you find out he did not, you cannot help yourself from being stunned and amazed.