Donatello (Donato di Niccol? di Betto Bardi; c. 1386 ? December 13, 1466) was a famous early Renaissance Italian artist and sculptor from Florence. He is, in part, known for his work in basso rilievo, a form of shallow relief sculpture that, in Donatello's case, incorporated significant 15th-century developments in perspectival illusionism.
In 1411-1413 Donatello worked on a statue of St. Mark for the church of Orsanmichele. In 1417 he completed the St. George for the Confraternity of the Cuirass-makers. The elegant St. George and the Dragon relief on the statue's base, executed in schiacciato (also known as bas-relief or basso rilievo) is one of the first examples of central-point perspective in sculpture.
Around 1430, Cosimo de' Medici, the foremost art patron of his era, commissioned 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 first known free-standing 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.
http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj171/Azjahh/Art%20Museum/Davide_byDonatello.jpg
Donatello sculpture, Uffizi
http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj171/Azjahh/Art%20Museum/Uffizi_Donatello.jpg
Tome of the Antipope
http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj171/Azjahh/Art%20Museum/DonatelloTombforantipope.jpg
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 indepedently, in a public place.) This work became the prototype for other equestrian monuments executed in Italy and Europe in the following centuries.
http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj171/Azjahh/Art%20Museum/DonatelloGattamelata.jpg
Statue of St. George in Orsanmichele, Florence.
http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj171/Azjahh/Art%20Museum/239px-St_George_Donatello_Orsanmich.jpg
Donatello's Saint Mark (1411-1413), is a marble statue that stands approximately seven feet and nine inches high in an exterior niche of the Orsanmichele church, Florence. Donatello was commissioned by the linen weaver?s guild to complete three pieces for the project. St. Mark was the first of his contributions. The niche itself was not of Donatello's hand, but created most probably by two stone carvers named Perfetto di Giovanni and Albizzo di Pietro. Today, a copy of the statue stands in the original's place, while the real St. Mark is housed inside the church's museum.
Donatello's David
http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj171/Azjahh/Art%20Museum/DonatelloStmark.jpg
Statue of St. John the Baptist in the Duomo di Siena.
http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj171/Azjahh/Art%20Museum/464px-Siena_Duomo_Donatello_JohnBap.jpg
((All information and images are taken from Wikipedia. Full credit and rights belong to Wikipedia. Images are Public Domain due to copyright expiration.))
In 1411-1413 Donatello worked on a statue of St. Mark for the church of Orsanmichele. In 1417 he completed the St. George for the Confraternity of the Cuirass-makers. The elegant St. George and the Dragon relief on the statue's base, executed in schiacciato (also known as bas-relief or basso rilievo) is one of the first examples of central-point perspective in sculpture.
Around 1430, Cosimo de' Medici, the foremost art patron of his era, commissioned 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 first known free-standing 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.
http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj171/Azjahh/Art%20Museum/Davide_byDonatello.jpg
Donatello sculpture, Uffizi
http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj171/Azjahh/Art%20Museum/Uffizi_Donatello.jpg
Tome of the Antipope
http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj171/Azjahh/Art%20Museum/DonatelloTombforantipope.jpg
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 indepedently, in a public place.) This work became the prototype for other equestrian monuments executed in Italy and Europe in the following centuries.
http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj171/Azjahh/Art%20Museum/DonatelloGattamelata.jpg
Statue of St. George in Orsanmichele, Florence.
http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj171/Azjahh/Art%20Museum/239px-St_George_Donatello_Orsanmich.jpg
Donatello's Saint Mark (1411-1413), is a marble statue that stands approximately seven feet and nine inches high in an exterior niche of the Orsanmichele church, Florence. Donatello was commissioned by the linen weaver?s guild to complete three pieces for the project. St. Mark was the first of his contributions. The niche itself was not of Donatello's hand, but created most probably by two stone carvers named Perfetto di Giovanni and Albizzo di Pietro. Today, a copy of the statue stands in the original's place, while the real St. Mark is housed inside the church's museum.
Donatello's David
http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj171/Azjahh/Art%20Museum/DonatelloStmark.jpg
Statue of St. John the Baptist in the Duomo di Siena.
http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj171/Azjahh/Art%20Museum/464px-Siena_Duomo_Donatello_JohnBap.jpg
((All information and images are taken from Wikipedia. Full credit and rights belong to Wikipedia. Images are Public Domain due to copyright expiration.))