Vincenzo Ulivieri painted Deposition at the end of the sixteenth century for the first altar on the right in the main church of the Ospedale degli Innocenti, to replace the Coronation of the Virgin by Neri di Bicci which was no longer considered in keeping with the style of the day. The artist, whose biography still requires much research, was an Innocentino, as foundlings were called in Florence. Vincenzo Borghini started him in his career as an artist and he soon became one of Borghini’s favorite pupils along with Giovan Battista Naldini.
After the church was remodeled in 1786, the painting was placed inside the Ospedale; it is now in what is known as the “lower gallery,” a part of the building which can only be viewed on request and with a special guide. Given the painting’s importance for the history of the Istituto degli Innocenti and its fine quality, after its restoration it will be hung in the exhibition area of the New Museo degli Innocenti (MUDI) alongside works by Poppi and Naldini.