(Florence 1503–1577)
The Holy Family with St. John the Baptist as a child,
oil on panel, 76 x 62 cm, framed

We are grateful to Prof Heidi J. Hornik for identifying the present painting as a work by the Ghirlandaio Workshop under the direction of Michele Tosini, called Michele di Ridolfo del Ghirlandaio (Florence 1503-1577).
Mina Gregori suggested an attribution to Michele di Ridolfo del Ghirlandaio and workshop on the basis of a digital photograph.

After his first studies under Lorenzo di Credi and Antonio del Ceraiolo, Michele Tosini entered the famous workshop of Ridolfo Ghirlandaio, whose name he later adopted. He was a successful portraitist, but also painted religious and allegorical scenes. In 1563, he assisted Vasari in the foundation of the Accademia del Disegno. Some time later, the two artists collaborated in the decoration of the Salone dei Cinquecento at the Palazzo Vecchio, Florence. Influenced by Vasari, Tosini adopted elements from Michelangelo’s art for his own. In his later period, Tosini received commissions for the decoration of three Florentine town gates, for an altarpiece in the chapel of the Villa Caserotta near San Casciano, and for paintings on the tabernacle of the high altar in Santa Maria della Quercia in Viterbo. When Ridolfo Ghirlandaio withdrew from the workshop, then one of the largest and most renowned in Florence, it was put under Tosini’s direction. In the present painting Tosini adapted a very popular composition. There are versions with important variations in Faenza (Pinacoteca Comunale) and in Glasgow (Glasgow Art Gallery and Museum). Both of these versions do not show Saint Joseph, and Christ’s head is turned to the right. Another version of the present painting, also lacking Saint Joseph, is in a private collection in Milan (Fondazione Zeri, numero scheda 36445). The aforementioned Milanese painting is probably based on the present work.