Portrait of a young man

Ridolfo del Ghirlandaio painted this Portrait of a Young Man around 1500 in Florence. As Domenico Ghirlandaio's son, Ridolfo inherited the family workshop and its portrait practice. His portraits blend his father's descriptive approach with the softer modeling he absorbed from Leonardo and Raphael. The tempera-on-panel medium required a carefully gessoed surface and was painted in fine, precise layers, yielding a luminous, jewel-like surface of great durability.

Oil on panel with refined Florentine technique and warm flesh tones. The three-quarter portrait format and atmospheric background show Ridolfo's synthesis of traditional Ghirlandaio workshop methods with contemporary innovations.