Portrait of Piero di Domenico Pagni

Ridolfo Ghirlandaio was a respected portrait painter based in his native Florence. The artist trained with his father and is also reported to have studied briefly with Raphael during the latter’s stay in Florence, from 1504-8. This portrait of Piero di Domenico Pagni dates from that period, and was likely commissioned by a noble family from the small Tuscan town of Pescia, located between the cities of Lucca and Florence. Pescia was under Florentine rule when this portrait was painted. The sitter wears traditional Renaissance dress. He is likely Piero, the son of prominent prior (or legislator) Domenico di Cipriano di Giovanni Battista Pagni.