DONATELLO
Biography
Donatello Donato di Niccolo di Betto Bardi, called Donatello was a famous early
Renaissance Italian artist and sculptor from Florence, Italy. He became well recognized
for his creation of the shallow relief style of sculpting, which made the sculpture seem
much deeper than it actually was. Donatello was born in Florence in 1383, the son of a
wool comber. When he was 17 years old, he assisted the noted sculptor Lorenzo
Ghiberti. Donatello was an all-round sculptor; he worked in wood as well as marble and
bronze.
Donatello is considered one of the founders of modern sculpture because he created
realistic human expressions and stressed action and character. He is famous for his use
of dramatic effects and was a master craftsman.
Donatello's life-size bronze Equistarian Monument of Gattamelata is said to be the first
since ancient Rome. His other famous works are the Statue of Zuccone and his bronze
statue of David which is thought to be a portrait of Leonardo da Vinci as young man.
Donatello spent his old age in Florence and influenced Italian sculptors, notably
Michelangelo, well into the sixteenth century. His work outside Italy is exceedingly rare;
there is only one statue by him in the United States, a marble Madonna in the Boston
Museum of Fine Arts.