Portrait of an Old Man and His Grandson

Italian painter Domenico Ghirlandaio painted this tender portrait around 1490, showing an elderly man in a red robe embracing a young boy. The child's hand rests on the man's chest as he looks up with complete trust. A window behind them reveals a winding landscape typical of the artist's backgrounds.

The work famous for its unflinching realism. The man's nose shows clear signs of rhinophyma, a skin condition that causes bulbous growths. Medical students still study this portrait to learn about the condition. Yet Ghirlandaio presents his subject with dignity rather than mockery, making the work notable for its time.

We don't know who these two figures were, despite the assumption that they're grandfather and grandson. A preparatory drawing by Ghirlandaio shows the same man, possibly made while he slept or after death. The painting now hangs at the Louvre Museum in Paris.