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The Vespucci family commissioned Ghirlandaio in 1480 to fresco a St Jerome in the church of Ognissanti as pendant to the St Augustine that Botticelli had recently painted on the chancel screens in the church. When these were later taken apart, both wall paintings were moved. In the process both were damaged and lost their original architectural context. They are now opposite each other on the walls of the church.
In the early 1480s Pope Sixtus IV brought a number of famous Tuscan and Umbrian artists to Rome in order to decorate his new court chapel, the Sistine Chapel. Ghirlandaio must already have made a name for himself with his commissions, primarily the frescoes for the Saint Fina Chapel, in order to be considered for a task of this importance. The chapel's ceiling would not be decorated with Michelangelo's famous frescoes until the reign of Sixtus' nephew, Julius II. Between 1481 and 1483, the walls of the chapel were covered with frescoes by Sandro Botticelli, Domenico Ghirlandaio, Cosimo Rosselli, Piero di Cosimo and Luca Signorelli - probably under the direction of Pietro Perugino.
After the successful interlude in Rome in 1482 Ghirlandaio received the official commission from the Signoria, the city government of Florence, to produce the decorations in the Sala dei Gigli in the town hall, the Palazzo Vecchio.
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| Summary of works by Ghirlandaio |
| 1. Early works (1471-73) |
| 2. Stories of St Fina at San Gimignano (1473-75) |
| 3. Frescoes in Florence and Rome (1480-84) |
| 4. Last Supper scenes |
| 5. Decoration of the Sassetti Chapel (1482-85) |
| 6. Frescoes in the Tornabuoni Chapel (1486-89) |
| 7. Panel paintings |
| 8. Adoration of the Magi (1488) |
| 9. Drawings |
