Donatello
The Great Florentine sculptor.

Born in 1386 Donatello was the greatest Florentine sculptor of his age,and had worked in the studio of Lorenzo Ghiberti.

Ghiberti is famous for winning the competition to design the doors for the Baptistery in Florence. The artist assisted Gilberti with some of the work on these doors and had also received artistic training in a goldsmith's workshop.

The statue of St George, made in about 1420, is one of the most important works in his development. In this work the sculptor had broken with the Gothic style of statues and their solemn rows of saints. St George is totally real, steadfast, and determined in his defiance of any enemy that may approach.

"St George"
1415-16 marble hight 209 cm. (W)

The artist achieved great fame in his own lifetime and was often called upon to work for other Italian cities. In 1427 he was commissioned to make a bronze relief for a font at Sienna. His subject was "The Feast of Herod" a scene from the life of St John the Baptist.

This work shows the moment when Salome asks Herod for the head of John as a reward for her dancing, and gets it. The executioner kneels carrying the head of the saint on a platter and the King recoils in horror.

"The Feast of Herod"
1423-7 gilt bronze 60x60 cm (S)

In 1443 the sculptor was in Padua and executed his statue of Erasmo on horseback, better known as "Gattamelata".

"Gattamelata" (W)

The sculpor's statue of David made in the 1440s was the first male nude statue since classical times, it was also the first freestanding work to be cast in bronze of the Italian Renaissance.

"David" (W)

Personal opinion:-

This is a strange pose for a man/woman! The statue looks very effeminate and has an almost comical quality. Has the young male/female wondered into a theatrical cloakroom and dressed themselves in whatever was available?

However the carving of the figure is wonderful and Donatello has attempted to capture a prepubescent youth who is yet to mature into adulthood. Click on the picture to go to Michelangelo's page and compare with his David.

Donatello died 1466 and was buried in the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence.

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