Donatello

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

Work in Florence

Donatello probably did not return to Florence before 1405, since the earliest works in that city that can be traced to his chisel are two small statues of prophets for the north door of the cathedral, for which he received payment in November 1406 and in the beginning of 1408. In the latter year, he was entrusted with the important commissions for the marble David (not to be confused with his later bronze version), now at the Bargello, and for the colossal seated figure of Saint John the Evangelist, which until 1588 occupied a niche of the old cathedral facade, and is now placed in a dark chapel of the Duomo. He was next employed at Orsanmichele, where only four of the 14 niches had been filled by 1406. As the result of a reminder sent by the Signory to the guilds who had undertaken the creation of the statues, the services of Ciuffagni, Nanni di Banco, Ghiberti, and Donatello were enlisted. In service of this project, Donatello completed three sculptures between 1412 and 1415 - Saint Peter, Saint George, and Saint Mark. He probably also assisted Nanni di Banco in his group of four saints. To this early period belongs the wooden crucifix in Santa Croce, the most striking instance of Donatello's realism in rendering the human form and his first attempt at carving the nude. It is reputed that this crucifix was executed in rivalry with Brunelleschi's The Crucifix at Santa Maria Novella, and that Donatello, at the sight of his friend's work, exclaimed, "It has been left to you to shape a real Christ, whilst I have made a peasant". In this early group of statues, from the prophets for the cathedral door to the Saint George, Donatello's gradual maturation is visible. It can be followed from a Gothic stiffness of attitude and draping to an easy poise, muscular litheness, and forceful rendering of the human form and movement, which are distinct elements of the classical ideal. All these figures were carved in marble and are admirably conceived in relation to their architectural setting.

Related Topics:
1405 - 1406 - 1408 - Bargello - 1588 - Orsanmichele - Nanni di Banco - 1412 - 1415 - ''Saint Mark'' - Santa Croce - Santa Maria Novella - Gothic

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~