Giovanna tornabuoni biography channel

Portraiture is a genre that began with medieval altarpieces, on which the portraits of the usually aristocratic patrons who had commissioned the work were placed on the side panels.

Later, they were widely used for the purpose of arranged marriages, so that the engaged couple could see what each other looked like before the wedding.

In this case, the portrait was commissioned by the husband, who was a member of the Tornabuoni family, in remembrance of his wife, Giovanna degli Albizzi, who died young.

The Tornabuoni were bankers who were allies of the famous Medici family, the art patrons of the Florentine golden age. This lady is also shown full length in another portrait commissioned by the Tornabuoni, “The Birth of the Virgin Mary”, one of the large frescoes that decorate the church of Santa María Novella in Florence.

Ghirlandaio was a 15th century Italian Renaissance portrait who was a member of the School of Florence, and a contemporary of