Donatello

:This page is about the artist. For other references to Donatello, see Donatello (disambiguation).

Early years

Donatello was the son of Nicolo di Betto Bardi, a member of the Florentine Woolcombers Guild, and was born in Florence, probably in 1386. The date is conjectural, since the scanty contemporary records of Donatello's life are contradictory, the earliest documentary reference to the master bearing the date 1406, when a payment is made to him as an independent sculptor. That Donatello was educated in the house of the Martelli family, as stated by Giorgio Vasari, and that he owed to them his introduction to his future friend and patron, Cosimo de' Medici, is very doubtful, in view of the fact that his father had espoused the cause of the Albizzi against the Medici, and was in consequence banished from Florence, where his property was confiscated. It is, however, certain that Donatello received his first training, according to the custom of the period, in a goldsmith's workshop, and that he worked for a short time in Lorenzo Ghiberti's studio. He was too young to enter the competition for the North Baptistery gates in 1402, from which Ghiberti emerged victorious over Filippo Brunelleschi, Jacopo della Quercia, Nicolo d'Arezzo, and other rivals. When Brunelleschi left Florence in disappointment and went to Rome to study the remains of classic art, he was accompanied by young Donatello. While pursuing their studies and excavations on classic soil, which gained them the reputation of treasure seekers, the two young men made a living by working at the goldsmiths' shops. This 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. These investigations helped him develop an understanding of linear perspective and eventually construct the cupola of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence, while Donatello acquired his knowledge of classic forms and ornamentation. The two masters, each in his own sphere, were to become two of the leading spirits of the Early Renaissance. Brunelleschi's buildings and Donatello's monuments are the supreme expression of the spirit of this era in architecture and sculpture and exercised a potent influence upon the painters of that age.

Related Topics:
Florence - 1406 - Giorgio Vasari - Cosimo de' Medici - Goldsmith - Lorenzo Ghiberti - Baptistery - 1402 - Filippo Brunelleschi - Jacopo della Quercia - Rome - Italian art - 15th century - Pantheon - Santa Maria del Fiore

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