Donatello - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Donatello
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi (c. 1386 –
December 13, 1466), better known as Donatello, was
an early Renaissance sculptor from Florence. He is, in
part, known for his work in bas-relief, a form of
shallow relief sculpture that, in Donatello's case,
incorporated significant 15th-century developments in
perspectival illusionism.
Donatello
Contents
1 Early life
2 Work in Florence
3 Major commissions in Florence
4 In Padua
5 Last years in Florence
6 Main works
7 Notes
Donatello's statue outside of the Uffizi Gallery.
Born
Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi
8 References
c. 1386
9 External links
Florence, Italy
Died
13 December 1466
Florence, Italy
Early life
Donatello was the son of Niccolò di Betto Bardi, who
was a member of the Florentine Wool Combers Guild,
and was born in Florence, most likely in the year
1386. Donatello was educated in the house of the
Martelli family.[1] He apparently received his early
artistic training in a goldsmith's workshop, and then
worked briefly in the studio of Lorenzo Ghiberti.
Nationality
Florentine, Italian
Education
Lorenzo Ghiberti
Known for
Sculpture
Notable work St. George, David, Equestrian
Monument of Gattamelata
Movement
Early Renaissance
While undertaking study and excavations with Filippo Brunelleschi in Rome (1404–1407), work that
gained the two men the reputation of treasure seekers, Donatello made a living by working at
goldsmiths' shops. Their Roman sojourn was decisive for the entire development of Italian art in the
15th century, for it was during this period that Brunelleschi undertook his measurements of the Pantheon
dome and of other Roman buildings. Brunelleschi's buildings and Donatello's sculptures are both
considered supreme expressions of the spirit of this era in architecture and sculpture, and they exercised
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a potent influence upon the artists of the age.
Work in Florence
In Florence, Donatello assisted
Lorenzo Ghiberti with the statues of
prophets for the north door of the
Baptistery of Florence Cathedral, for
which he received payment in
November 1406 and early 1408. In
1409–1411 he executed the colossal
Statue of St. John the
seated figure of Saint John the
Baptist in the Duomo di
Evangelist, which until 1588
Siena
occupied a niche of the old cathedral
façade, and is now placed in the
Museo dell'Opera del Duomo. This work marks a decisive step
forward from late Gothic Mannerism in the search for naturalism
and the rendering of human feelings.[2] The face, the shoulders
and the bust are still idealized, while the hands and the fold of
cloth over the legs are more realistic.
In 1411–1413, Donatello worked on a statue of St. Mark for the
guild church of Orsanmichele. In 1417 he completed the Saint
George for the Confraternity of the Cuirass-makers. The elegant
St. George and the Dragon relief on the statue's base, executed in
In 1409–1411 he executed the
schiacciato (a very low bas-relief) is one of the first examples of
colossal seated figure of Saint John
central-point perspective in sculpture. From 1423 is the Saint
the Evangelist.
Louis of Toulouse for the Orsanmichele, now in the Museum of
the Basilica di Santa Croce. Donatello had also sculpted the
classical frame for this work, which remains, while the statue was moved in 1460 and replaced by
Incredulity of Saint Thomas by Verrocchio.
Between 1415 and 1426, Donatello created five statues for the campanile of Santa Maria del Fiore in
Florence, also known as the Duomo. These works are the Beardless Prophet; Bearded Prophet (both
from 1415); the Sacrifice of Isaac (1421); Habbakuk (1423–1425); and Jeremiah (1423–1426); which
follow the classical models for orators and are characterized by strong portrait details. From the late
teens is the Pazzi Madonna relief in Berlin. In 1425, he executed the notable Crucifix for Santa Croce;
this work portrays Christ in a moment of the agony, eyes and mouth partially opened, the body
contracted in an ungraceful posture.
From 1425 to 1427, Donatello collaborated with Michelozzo on the funerary monument of the Antipope
John XXIII for the Battistero in Florence. Donatello made the recumbent bronze figure of the deceased,
under a shell. In 1427, he completed in Pisa a marble relief for the funerary monument of Cardinal
Rainaldo Brancacci at the church of Sant'Angelo a Nilo in Naples. In the same period, he executed the
relief of the Feast of Herod and the statues of Faith and Hope for the Baptistery of San Giovanni in
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Siena. The relief is mostly in stiacciato, with the foreground
figures are done in bas-relief.
Major commissions in Florence
David at Bargello, Florence.
Around 1430, Cosimo de'
Medici, the foremost art
patron of his era,
certificated from
Donatello the bronze
David (now in the
Bargello) for the court of
his Palazzo Medici. This
is now Donatello's most
famous work. At the time
of its creation, it was the
Donatello David head and shoulders
first known free-standing
front right
nude statue produced
since ancient times.
Conceived fully in the round, independent of any architectural
surroundings, and largely representing an allegory of the civic
virtues triumphing over brutality and irrationality, it was the first
major work of Renaissance sculpture. Also from this period is
the disquietingly small Love-Atys, housed in the Bargello.
Some have perceived the David as having homo-erotic qualities,
and have argued that this reflected the artist's own orientation.[3] Details of Donatello's relationships
remain speculative. The historian Paul Strathern makes the claim that Donatello made no secret of his
homosexuality, and that his behaviour was tolerated by his friends.[4] This may not be surprising in the
context of attitudes prevailing in the 15th- and 16th-century Florentine republic. However, little detail is
known with certainty about his private life, and no mention of his sexuality has been found in the
Florentine archives (in terms of denunciations)[5] albeit which during this period are incomplete.[6] The
main evidence comes from anecdotes by Angelo Poliziano in his "Detti piacevoli".[7]
When Cosimo was exiled from Florence, Donatello went to Rome, remaining until 1433. The two works
that testify to his presence in this city, the Tomb of Giovanni Crivelli at Santa Maria in Aracoeli, and the
Ciborium at St. Peter's Basilica, bear a strong stamp of classical influence.
Donatello's return to Florence almost coincided with Cosimo's. In May 1434, he signed a contract for the
marble pulpit on the facade of Prato cathedral, the last project executed in collaboration with
Michelozzo. This work, a passionate, pagan, rhythmically conceived bacchanalian dance of half-nude
putti, was the forerunner of the great Cantoria, or singing tribune, at the Duomo in Florence on which
Donatello worked intermittently from 1433 to 1440 and was inspired by ancient sarcophagi and
Byzantine ivory chests. In 1435, he executed the Annunciation for the Cavalcanti altar in Santa Croce,
inspired by 14th-century iconography, and in 1437–1443, he worked in the Old Sacristy of the San
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Lorenzo in Florence, on two doors and lunettes portraying saints, as well as
eight stucco tondoes. From 1438 is the wooden statue of St. John the
Evangelist for Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari in Venice. Around 1440, he
executed a bust of a Young Man with a Cameo now in the Bargello, the first
example of a lay bust portrait since the classical era.
In Padua
In 1443, Donatello was called to Padua by the heirs of the famous
condottiero Erasmo da Narni, who had died that year. Completed in 1450
and placed in the square facing the Basilica of St. Anthony, his equestrian
statue of Erasmo (better known as the Gattamelata, or "Honey-Cat") was
the first example of such a monument since ancient times. (Other equestrian
statues, from the 14th century, had not been executed in bronze and had
been placed over tombs rather than erected independently, in a public
place.) This work became the prototype for other equestrian monuments
executed in Italy and Europe in the following centuries.
For the Basilica of St. Anthony, Donatello created, most famously, the
bronze Crucifix of 1444–1447 and additional statues for the choir, including
a Madonna with Child and six saints, constituting a Holy Conversation,
which is no longer visible since the renovation by Camillo Boito in 1895.
The Madonna with Child portrays the Child being displayed to the faithful,
on a throne flanked by two sphinxes, allegorical figures of knowledge. On
the throne's back is a relief of Adam and Eve. During this period—1446–50
—Donatello also executed four extremely important reliefs with scenes
from the life of St. Anthony for the high altar.
Statue of St. George in
Orsanmichele, Florence
Last years in Florence
Donatello returned to Florence in 1453. The Judith and Holofernes, begun
for the Duomo di Siena date from 1455 to 1460 but were later acquired by
the Medici. Until 1461, Donatello remained in Siena, where he created a St.
John the Baptist, also for the Duomo, and models for its gates, now lost.
Donatello's equestrian
For his last commission in Florence, Donatello produced reliefs for the
statue of Gattamelata at
bronze pulpits in the church of San Lorenzo, with help from students
Padua.
Bartolomeo Bellano and Bertoldo di Giovanni. Donatello provided the
general design and personally executed the Martyrdom of St. Lawrence and
the Deposition from the Cross; he worked on the reliefs of Christ before Pilate and Christ before
Caiphus, with Bellano. This work is characterized by an intense, free, indeed sketchy and suggestively
unfinished — in Italian a non-finito — technique that heightens the dramatic effect of the scenes and
emphasizes their spiritual intensity. Donatello died in Florence in 1466 and was buried in the Basilica of
San Lorenzo, next to Cosimo de' Medici the Elder.
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Main works
"St. Mark" (1411–1413), Orsanmichele, Florence
St. George Tabernacle (c. 1415–1417) — Museo Nazionale del
Bargello, Florence
"Prophet Habacuc" (1423–1425) — Museo dell'Opera del Duomo,
Florence
"The Feast of Herod" (c. 1425) — Baptismal font, Baptistry of San
Giovanni, Siena
"David" (c. 1425–1430) — Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence
"Madonna of the Clouds" (c. 1425–35) marble relief, Museum of
Fine Arts, Boston
"Equestrian Monument of Gattamelata" (1445–1450) — Piazza del
Santo, Padua
"Magdalene Penitent" (c. 1455) — Museo dell'Opera del Duomo,
Florence
"Judith and Holofernes" (1455–1460) — Palazzo Vecchio, Florence
Statue of Habacuc from
the bell tower of the
Duomo, Florence.
"Virgin and Child with Four Angels" or "Chellini Madonna" (1456),
Victoria and Albert Museum
Bust of Niccolo da Uzzano by
Donatello. Cast from original in
Museo Nazionale del Bargello,
Florence, Italy.
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"Magdalene Penitent" (c. 1455) —
Museo dell'Opera del Duomo,
Florence.
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The head of Saint John the
Evangelist, 1408-1415 which until
1588 occupied a niche of the old
cathedral façade, and is now placed
in the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo.
Notes
1. ^ Giorgio Vasari: art and history (http://books.google.com/books?id=-X4mnRJaJ_UC&pg=PA350) By
Patricia Lee Rubin. Retrieved October 20, 2009.
2. ^ Janson, The Sculpture of Donatello, Princeton, 1963.
3. ^ H.W. Janson, The Sculpture of Donatello, Princeton, 1957, II, 77-86; Laurie Schneider, "Donatello's
Bronze David," The Art Bulletin, 55 (1973) 213–216.
4. ^ Paul Strathern, The Medici:Godfather of the Renaissance, London, 2003
5. ^ J. Poeschke, "Donatello and His World" (1994)
6. ^ Louis Crompton, Homosexuality and Civilization, Harvard Press, 2003, p. 264.
7. ^ Michael Rocke, Forbidden Friendships: Homosexuality and Male Culture in Renaissance Florence
References
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed.
(1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
Donatello article in the 1911 Edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica
(http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Donatello)
Adrian W. B. Randolph, Engaging symbols: gender, politics, and public art in fifteenth-century
Florence. Yale University Press, 2002.
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Giorgio Vasari, Le vite de' più eccellenti pittori, scultori e architettori Lives of the Most Excellent
Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, Firenze 1568, edizione a cura di R. Bettarini e P. Barocchi,
Firenze 1971.
Rolf C. Wirtz, Donatello, Könemann, Colonia 1998. ISBN 3-8290-4546-8
Charles Avery, Donatello. Catalogo completo delle opere, Firenze 1991
Bonnie A. Bennett e David G. Wilkins, Donatello, Oxford 1984.
Michael Greenhalg, Donatello and his sources, Londra 1982.
Volker Herzner, Die Judith del Medici, in Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte, 43, 1980, pp. 139–180.
Horst W. Janson, The sculpture of Donatello, Princetown 1957.
Hans Kauffmann, Donatello, Berlino 1935
Peter E. Leach, Images of political Triumph. Donatello's iconography of Heroes, Princetown 1984
Pierluigi De Vecchi ed Elda Cerchiari, I tempi dell'arte, volume 2, Bompiani, Milano 1999. ISBN
88-451-7212-0
Donatello e il suo tempo, atti dell'VIII convegno internazionale di Studi sul Rinascimento, Firenze
e Padova, 1966, Firenze 1968
Roberto Manescalchi Il Marzocco / The lion of Florence. In collaborazione con Maria Carchio,
Alessandro del Meglio, English summary by Gianna Crescioli. Grafica European Center of Fine
Arts e Assessorato allo sport e tempo libero, Valorizzazioni tradizioni fiorentine, Toponomastica,
Relazioni internazionale e gemellaggi del comune di Firenze, novembre, 2005.
External links
Donatello: Biography, style and artworks
(http://www.artble.com/artists/donatello)
Wikimedia Commons has
media related to Donatello.
Donatello: Art in Tuscany (http://www.casasantapia.com
/art/donatello.htm)
Donatello at The Metropolitan Museum of Art (http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd
/dona/hd_dona.htm)
Donatello: Photo Gallery (http://www.scultura-italiana.com/Galleria/Donatello/index.html)
Donatello (http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/18099), by David Lindsay, 27th Earl of Crawford,
from Project Gutenberg
The Chellini Madonna (http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/t/the-chellini-madonna/) Sculpture.
Victoria and Albert Museum
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Categories: 1380s births 1466 deaths People from Florence Italian Roman Catholics
Italian sculptors Renaissance sculptors LGBT artists from Italy LGBT Roman Catholics
Burials at the Basilica of San Lorenzo, Florence
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