Domenico di Zanobi, formerly known as the Master of the Johnson Nativity, was an Italian Renaissance painter. His exact dates of birth and death are not known. He is documented as a mature artist from 1467 until 1481. Domenico di Zanobi's paintings were first grouped together in 1966 by the American art historian

Everett Fahy Everett Fahy (1941-2018) was an American art historian. He was director of The Frick Collection from 1973 until 1986, and then until 2009 the John Hennessy Chairman of European Paintings at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Biography Everett Fahy w ...

, who recognized about two dozen paintings in a similar style. Since none of these paintings are signed, Fahy named their artist the "Master of the Johnson Nativity," after the panel of the ''Nativity'' in the Johnson Collection at the

Philadelphia Museum of Art The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMoA) is an art museum originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The main museum building was completed in 1928 on Fairmount, a hill located at the northwest end of the Benjamin Fr ...

. In 1996, the Florentine scholar Annamaria Bernacchioni identified this artist as Domenico di Zanobi, a documented assistant of

Filippo Lippi Filippo Lippi ( – 8 October 1469), also known as Lippo Lippi, was an Italian painter of the Quattrocento (15th century) and a Carmelite Priest. Biography Lippi was born in Florence in 1406 to Tommaso, a butcher, and his wife. He was orp ...

in Florence and

Prato Prato ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Italy, the capital of the Province of Prato. The city lies in the north east of Tuscany, at the foot of Monte Retaia, elevation , the last peak in the Calvana chain. With more than 200,000 i ...

, based on her discovery of the carpenter's bill for the ''Coronation of the Virgin'' at the Museo della Misericordia in San Miniato. This painting, attributed by Fahy to the Master of the Johnson Nativity, was reportedly commissioned by the Chellini family in 1476 from a painter named "Domenico." Since the painting is clearly not by

Domenico di Michelino Domenico di Michelino (1417–1491) was an Italian Renaissance painter who was born and died in Florence. His real name was Domenico di Francesco. The patronymic "di Michelino" was adopted in honor of his teacher, the cassone painter Michelino di ...

, who also worked for the Chellini family, Bernacchioni suggests that it's by Domenico di Zanobi, who shared a workshop with Domenico di Michelino in Florence's Via delle Terme by 1467. The identification has since found acceptance among art historians. Aside from the influence of his teacher, Domenico's art evolved through contact with Andrea del Castagno, Alesso Baldovinetti, and Sandro Botticelli. He also collaborated with the young Filippino Lippi in an ''Annunciation'' at the Galleria dell'Accademia, Florence. He painted primarily religious subjects, including altarpieces and many small panels for private devotion.

Notes

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zanobi, Domenico di Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown 15th-century Italian painters Italian male painters Catholic painters