Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi ( – 13 December 1466), better known as Donatello ( ), was a
Florentine sculptor of the
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history
The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...
period. Born in
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...
, he studied
classical sculpture and used this to develop a complete Renaissance style in sculpture. He spent time in other cities, and while there he worked on commissions and taught others; his periods in
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
,
Padua, and
Siena introduced to other parts of Italy his techniques, developed in the course of a long and productive career. Financed by
Cosimo de' Medici, Donatello's ''
David'' was the first freestanding
nude male sculpture since antiquity.
He worked with stone, bronze, wood, clay, stucco, and wax, and had several assistants, with four perhaps being a typical number. Although his best-known works mostly were statues in the round, he developed a new, very shallow, type of
bas-relief for small works, and a good deal of his output was larger architectural reliefs.
Early life
Donatello was the son of Niccolò di Betto Bardi, who was a member of the Florentine
Arte della Lana. He was born in Florence, probably in the year 1386. Donatello was educated in the house of the Martelli family. He apparently received his early artistic training in a
goldsmith
A goldsmith is a metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Nowadays they mainly specialize in jewelry-making but historically, goldsmiths have also made silverware, platters, goblets, decorative and servicea ...
's workshop, and then worked briefly in the studio of
Lorenzo Ghiberti.
In
Pistoia in 1401, Donatello met the older
Filippo Brunelleschi. They likely went to Rome together around 1403, staying until the next year, to study the architectural ruins. Brunelleschi informally tutored Donatello in
goldsmithing
A goldsmith is a metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Nowadays they mainly specialize in jewelry-making but historically, goldsmiths have also made silverware, platters, goblets, decorative and serviceable ...
and sculpture. 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 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
The Florence Baptistery, also known as the Baptistery of Saint John ( it, Battistero di San Giovanni), is a religious building in Florence, Italy, and has the status of a minor basilica. The octagonal baptistery stands in both the Piazza del D ...
, for which he received payment in November 1406 and early 1408. In 1409–1411 he executed the colossal seated figure of ''Saint John the Evangelist'', which occupied a niche of the old cathedral façade until 1588, and now is 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. 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
A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular area. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradesmen belonging to a professional association. They sometimes ...
church of
Orsanmichele
Orsanmichele (; "Kitchen Garden of St. Michael", from the Tuscan contraction of the Italian word ''orto'') is a church in the Italian city of Florence. The building was constructed on the site of the kitchen garden of the monastery of San Mich ...
. In 1417 he completed the ''
Saint George'' for the
Confraternity
A confraternity ( es, cofradía; pt, confraria) is generally a Christian voluntary association of laypeople created for the purpose of promoting special works of Christian charity or piety, and approved by the Church hierarchy. They are most c ...
of the
Cuirass
A cuirass (; french: cuirasse, la, coriaceus) is a piece of armour that covers the torso, formed of one or more pieces of metal or other rigid material. The word probably originates from the original material, leather, from the French '' cuirac ...
-makers. From 1423 is the ''
Saint Louis of Toulouse
Saint Louis of Toulouse (9 February 1274 – 19 August 1297), also known as Louis of Anjou, was a Neapolitan prince of the Capetian House of Anjou and a Catholic bishop.
Life
Louis was born in Brignoles, Provence (or in Italy, at Nocera, whe ...
'' for the Orsanmichele, now in the Museum of the
Basilica di Santa Croce. Donatello also sculpted the classical frame for this work, which remains, while the statue was moved in 1460 and replaced by the ''
Incredulity of Saint Thomas'' by
Verrocchio.
Between 1415 and 1426, Donatello created five statues for the
campanile of
Santa Maria del Fiore
Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring children gifts during the late evening and overnigh ...
in Florence, also known as the
Duomo
''Duomo'' (, ) is an Italian term for a church with the features of, or having been built to serve as, a cathedral, whether or not it currently plays this role. Monza Cathedral, for example, has never been a diocesan seat and is by definition n ...
. These works are the ''Beardless Prophet''; ''Bearded Prophet'' (both from 1415); the ''Sacrifice of Isaac'' (1421); ''
Habbakuk
Habakkuk, who was active around 612 BC, was a prophet whose oracles and prayer are recorded in the Book of Habakkuk, the eighth of the collected twelve minor prophets in the Hebrew Bible. He is revered by Jews, Christians, and Muslims.
Almost al ...
'' (1423–25); and ''Jeremiah'' (1423–26); which follow the classical models for orators and are characterized by strong portrait details. In 1425, he executed the notable ''
Crucifix'' for
Santa Croce; this work portrays Christ in a moment of 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
Baldassarre Cossa (c. 1370 – 22 December 1419) was Pisan antipope John XXIII (1410–1415) during the Western Schism. The Catholic Church regards him as an antipope, as he opposed Pope Gregory XII whom the Catholic Church now recognizes as t ...
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
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
. 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 Siena. ''The Feast of Herod'' is mostly in ''
stiacciato'' (a very low
bas-relief), with the foreground figures done in bas-relief, and is considered one of the first examples of
one-point perspective
Linear or point-projection perspective (from la, perspicere 'to see through') is one of two types of graphical projection perspective in the graphic arts; the other is parallel projection. Linear perspective is an approximate representation, ...
in sculpture.
During the period 1425-1430 the ''
Pazzi Madonna
The ''Pazzi Madonna '' is a rectangular "stiacciato" marble relief sculpture by Donatello, since 1886 in the sculpture collections of the Bode-Museum in Berlin. Dating to around 1420 and 1425 at the beginning of Donatello's collaboration with Mic ...
'' was created. It is a rectangular marble bas-relief sculpture, also in stiacciato. Its original owner is not known, but the work is thought to have been commissioned for private devotion by a resident of Florence. It is in the collection of the
Bode Museum in Berlin, Germany. It was copied frequently and admired for the tender nature of the depiction of the Virgin Mary and her smiling infant child.
Donatello also restored
antique sculptures for the
Palazzo Medici.
Bronze ''David''
Donatello's bronze ''
David'', now in the
Bargello museum, is his most famous work, and the first known free-standing nude statue produced since antiquity. 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 is arguably the first major work of
Renaissance sculpture
Renaissance sculpture is understood as a process of recovery of the sculpture of classical antiquity. Sculptors found in the artistic remains and in the discoveries of sites of that bygone era the perfect inspiration for their works. They were als ...
. It was commissioned by
Cosimo de' Medici for the courtyard of his
Palazzo Medici, but its date remains the subject of debate. It is most often dated to the 1440s, but dates as late as the 1460s have support from some scholars. It is not to be confused with his stone ''David'', with clothes, of about 1408–09.
Some have perceived the ''David'' as having
homoerotic qualities and have argued that this reflected the artist's own orientation. The historian
Paul Strathern makes the claim that Donatello made no secret of his homosexuality, and that his behaviour was tolerated by his friends. The main evidence comes from anecdotes by
Angelo Poliziano in his "''Detti piacevoli'', where he writes about Donatello surrounding himself with "handsome assistants" and chasing in search of one that had fled his workshop. 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) albeit which during this period are incomplete.
Rome, Prato, and Venice
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
The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican ( it, Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano), or simply Saint Peter's Basilica ( la, Basilica Sancti Petri), is a church built in the Renaissance style located in Vatican City, the papal e ...
, 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 Lorenzo in Florence, on two doors and lunettes portraying saints, as well as eight
stucco tondos. From 1438 is the wooden statue of
St. John the Baptist for
Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari in
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...
.
In Padua
In 1443, Donatello was called to
Padua by the heirs of the famous
condottiero Erasmo da Narni (better known as the ''Gattamelata'', or "Honey-Cat"), who had died that year. Completed in 1450 and placed in the square facing the
Basilica of St. Anthony, his ''
Equestrian Monument of Gattamelata'' 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 1444–47 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
sphinx
A sphinx ( , grc, σφίγξ , Boeotian: , plural sphinxes or sphinges) is a mythical creature with the head of a human, the body of a lion, and the wings of a falcon.
In Greek tradition, the sphinx has the head of a woman, the haunches of ...
es, allegorical figures of knowledge. On the throne's back is a relief of
Adam and Eve
Adam and Eve, according to the creation myth of the Abrahamic religions, were the first man and woman. They are central to the belief that humanity is in essence a single family, with everyone descended from a single pair of original ancestors. ...
. During this period—1446–50—Donatello also executed four important
why? reliefs with scenes from the life of
St. Anthony for the high altar. He remained in Padua until 1453, when he returned to Florence.
Gallery
File:San giovanni evangelista di donatello 03.JPG, ''Saint John the Evangelist'' (1408-1415), which until 1588 occupied a niche of the old Florence Cathedral façade, now at the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo
File:Donatello david plaster replica head and shoulders front right 1000px wide.jpg, Donatello's ''David'' head and shoulders front right
File:Donatello, madonna col bambino.JPG, ''Madonna and Child'', painted terracotta, c. 1440, Louvre
File:Gattamelata.jpg, '' Equestrian Monument of Gattamelata'' (1445–1450), Padua
file:Cappella di s. giovanni, siena, 16 s. giovanni di donatello.JPG, Statue of '' St. John the Baptist'' in the Duomo di Siena, c. 1455
File:Donatello, maria maddalena 03.JPG, '' Penitent Magdalene'', wood, c. 1440-1442, Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, Florence
File:Il Cristo di Sant'Angelo di Legnaia.jpg, ''Il Cristo di Sant'Angelo di Legnaia''
Works
2020 discovery
In 2020 art historian Gianluca Amato, as part of his research on wooden crucifixes crafted between the late thirteenth and the first half of the sixteenth century for his doctoral thesis at the
University of Naples Federico II
The University of Naples Federico II ( it, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II) is a public university in Naples, Italy. Founded in 1224, it is the oldest public non-sectarian university in the world, and is now organized into 26 depar ...
, discovered that the crucifix of the church of Sant'Angelo a Legnaia was sculpted by Donatello.
This discovery has been evaluated historically, considering that the work belonged to the Compagnia di Sant'Agostino that was based in the oratory adjacent to the mother church of Sant'Angelo a Legnaia. Silvia Bensì performed restoration work on the crucifix.
In popular culture
Donatello is portrayed by
Ben Starr in the 2016 television series ''
Medici: Masters of Florence''.
The fictional crimefighter
Donatello, one of the
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' is an American media franchise created by the comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael, four anthropomorphic turtle brothers (named after It ...
, is named after him.
Donatello is portrayed by
Rhett McLaughlin in the 2014
Epic Rap Battles of History
''Epic Rap Battles of History'' (ERB) is a YouTube web series and music project created by Peter "Nice Peter" Shukoff and Lloyd "EpicLLOYD" Ahlquist. The series pits historical and pop culture figures against one another in a rap battle format. ...
video ''Artists versus Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'', in which he appears working on Gattamelata and is mocked for being less famous than other Renaissance artists.
The ''Donatello''
Multi-Purpose Logistics Module
A Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) is a large pressurized container that was used on Space Shuttle missions to transfer cargo to and from the International Space Station (ISS). Two MPLMs made a dozen trips in the Shuttle cargo bay and init ...
(MPLM) built by the
Italian Space Agency, was one of three MPLMs operated by
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...
to transfer supplies and equipment to and from the
International Space Station. The others were named ''
Leonardo'' and ''
Raffaello Raffaello, Raffaele or Raffaellino is an Italian given name. It usually refers to Raphael (a.k.a. Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino), an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance.
Raffaello may also refer to:
* Raffaello (confection), a conf ...
''.
References
Further reading
* Avery, Charles, ''Donatello: An Introduction'', New York, 1994.
* Avery, Charles, ''Donatello. Catalogo completo delle opere'', Firenze 1991.
* Avery, Charles and McHam, Sarah Blake,
Donatello. Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press.
* Bennett, Bonnie A. and Wilkins, David G., ''Donatello'', Oxford 1984.
* Coonin, A. Victor, ''Donatello and the Dawn of Renaissance Art'', Reaktion Books, London, 2019.
* Greenhalgh, Michael, ''Donatello and His Sources'', Holmes & Meier Pub., 1982.
*
Hartt, Frederick and Wilkins, David G., ''History of Italian Renaissance Art'' (7th ed.), Pearson, 2010.
* Janson, Horst W., ''The Sculpture of Donatello'', Princeton University Press, 1957.
* Leach, Patricia Ann, ''Images of Political Triumph: Donatello's Iconography of Heroes'', Princeton University Press, 1984.
* Olson, Roberta J.M., ''Italian Renaissance Sculpture'', 1992, Thames & Hudson (World of Art),
* Randolph, Adrian W.B., ''Engaging Symbols: Gender, Politics, and Public Art in Fifteenth-Century Florence''. Yale University Press, 2002.
*
Vasari, Giorgio, ''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.
* Wilson, Carolyn C., ''Renaissance Small Bronze Sculpture and Associated Decorative Arts'', 1983, National Gallery of Art (Washington),
External links
Donatello: Biography, style, and artworksDonatello by
David Lindsay, 27th Earl of Crawford, from
Project Gutenberg
The Chellini MadonnaSculpture.
Victoria and Albert Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Donatello
Italian Renaissance sculptors
1380s births
1466 deaths
Sculptors from Florence
Italian male sculptors
15th-century people of the Republic of Florence
Burials at San Lorenzo, Florence
Italian Roman Catholics
Renaissance sculptors
15th-century Italian sculptors
Catholic sculptors