Nativity

His real name was Michele Tosini. He was a pupil of Lorenzo di Credi and later of Ridolfo del Ghirlandaio, in turn son of the famous Domenico, in whose honor he took his name. He was a remarkable representative of Florentine Mannerism, especially after the period of collaboration with Vasari in the frescoes of the Salone dei Cinquecento in Palazzo Vecchio. Mannerism, in fact, generally denounces the following stylistic features: the elongated monumental figures, the vast range of opposing colors, and the complex construction of the subject. In this work, which is still affected by his period of training, we see Saint Joseph and the Magi surrounding the couple of the Virgin and the Child Jesus in swaddling clothes, as if protecting both from the adversities of the world. The setting is candidly folk, and the squaring of the buildings is still uncertain.