DONATELLO AND MICHELANGELO Donatello and Michelangelo were italian artist who reign during the renaissance period. Renaissance period was the rebirth of the culture and art, and likewise in the political and economic aspect following the middle ages. Both Donatello and Michelangelo are wellknown artist and primary movers when it comes to art – on which their works both stood time and tradition. Donatello (Donato di Nicollo di Betto Bardi) was born in the 13th century in Florence, Italy. He is known to create sculptures with finest details that impart great impact. On the other hand, Michelangelo (Michelangelo Buonarroti) was born in the 14th century in Caprese, Italy. He is also a sculptor among other things, being a painter, architect and a poet. Donatello’s expression on art, specifically in his sculptures, was its thoroughness, aligning towards realism of the object. He mainly focuses on the candidness of the natural world. He introduces the realistic proportionalism, giving life to its emotion and expression – he devoted his art toward bona fide reality. With his works having inclination toward the authenticity of his subjects, this open the floodgate of passion and significance towards other fields like science, mathematics and architecture. As to Donatello’s medium, he is a master in using wood, clay, wax, stone and other things. These mediums combining with his genuine representation give way to the birth of modern artists as such became the foundation to discover new techniques that would provide different kinds of art. With Michelangelo, he is well-known artist after the death of Donatello. He had many great works e.g. The Creation of Adam, the Sistine Chapel ceiling, The Pieta, among others. Michelangelo’s expressionism is also widely known where it also shows in his own emotions. He brashly abandons works he felt not right and took pride on such act, and with that he had made many enemies. But such acts did not stop his fame to arise. He studied classical sculpture in the palace of the renowned Medici family. Michelangelo focuses mainly on the precision of human anatomy. As to his medium, he mainly dealt with stone and marble showcasing his unapparelled carving of the whole block. His precision on toward his artwork brought about the marvelous human-like sculptures that leave every crowd breathless. The statue of David by Donatello is refined and has a touch of the middle age period. It depicts a realistic version of a soldier, however leaning more on its humanity. With Michelangelo, his statue of David represents more on the expressional side and aesthetic of human anatomy. The precision of the muscles and other parts make it more realistic and lenient to what a human fantasize as a Greek God would look like. The three sculptures that interests me are: The Pieta, The Statue of David and the Equestrian Statue of Gattamelata. First, The Pieta illustrates a powerful emotion of a mother’s love. Second, the Statue of David brings realism and precision which is incredibly outstanding as first it is just a block of stone which was then turned into a masterpiece. Last, the Equestrian Statue of Gattamelata, it showcase the mediums and skill of Donatello as he not only can have realistic sculptures of humans, but it also extends to the natural world.
