Sculptor Donatello: biography, works, photos

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Donatello is an Italian sculptor who is a representative of the early Renaissance, the Florentine school. We will talk about his life and work in this article. The biography of this author is unknown in detail, so it is only possible to present it briefly.

Brief biographical information about the sculptor Donatello

The future sculptor Donatello was born in Florence in 1386, in the family of Nicollo di Betto Bardi, a rich wool comber. He trained from 1403-1407 in the workshop of a man named Lorenzo Ghiberti. Here he mastered, in particular, the technique of bronze casting. The work of this sculptor was greatly influenced by his acquaintance with another great man - Filippo Brunelleschi. Ghiberti and Brunneleschi remained the closest friends of the master for life.

Giorgio Vasari said that the sculptor Donatello was a very generous person, very kind, treated his friends very well, never attached importance to money. His students and friends took from him as much as they needed.

Early creative period

The activity of this sculptor in the early period, in the 1410s, was associated with communal orders that were provided to him fordecorations of various public buildings in Florence. For the building of Or San Michele (its facade), Donatello performs the statues of St. George (from 1415 to 1417) and St. Mark (from 1411 to 1413). In 1415 he completes the statue of St. John the Evangelist, who decorated the Florence Cathedral.

The Construction Commission in the same year commissioned Donatello to make the statues of the prophets to decorate the campanile. The master worked on their creation for almost two decades (from 1416 to 1435). Five figures are in the museum of the cathedral. "David" and the statues of the prophets (approximately 1430-1432) are still largely associated with the late Gothic tradition that existed at that time. Figures are subordinated to an abstract decorative rhythm, faces are treated in an ideally uniform way, bodies are covered with heavy robes. But already in these works he tries to convey the new ideal of his era - the heroic individual personality - Donatello. The sculptor created works of various themes in which this ideal is manifested. This is especially noticeable in the image of St. Mark (1412), St. George (1415), as well as Habakkuk and Jeremiah (years of creation - 1423-1426). Gradually, forms become clearer, volumes become solid, portraiture is replaced by a typical facial expression, and folds of robes envelop the body naturally, echoing its movement and curves.

Tomb of John XXIII

Sculptor Donatello creates together with Michelozzo the tomb of John XXIII between 1425 and 1427. It has become a classic model usedfor later tombs dating back to the Renaissance. The long cooperation of these two sculptors begins with this work.

Casting bronze figures

Donatello in the early 1420s turns to casting bronze figures. In this material, his first work is a statue of Louis of Toulouse, which he was commissioned in 1422 to decorate a niche in Or San Michele. This is one of the most remarkable monuments, which reflected the understanding of holiness as a personal achievement that dominated the Renaissance.

Statue of David

The pinnacle of this master's work in bronze is the statue of David, created around 1430-1432. It is designed, in contrast to medieval sculpture, for a circular detour. Another innovation was the theme of nudity, which Donatello turned to. The sculptor depicted David naked, and not in robes, as was customary before, for the first time since the Middle Ages so realistically and on such a large scale.

Other works by Donatello dating back to the 1410s - early 1420s - a figure of a lion carved in sandstone - the emblem of Florence, a wooden crucifix for the church of Santa Croce, a bronze reliquary for the church of Ognisanti, a bronze statuette located in the National Museum of Florence called "Attis Amorino", which is apparently a depiction of the ancient fertility deity, Priapus.

Works in relief technique

Experiences in the technique of relief from Donatello were also revolutionary. Striving for realistic depictionillusory space leads the sculptor to create a flattened relief, where the impression of depth is made using the gradation of volumes. The use of direct perspective techniques enhances the spatial illusion. "Drawing" with a chisel, the sculptor is likened to an artist painting a picture. We note here such works as "The Battle of George with the Dragon", "Madonna Pazzi", "The Feast of Herod", "Ascension of Mary" and others. The architectural background in the picturesque reliefs of this master is depicted using the rules of direct perspective. He managed to make several spatial zones in which the characters are located.

Trip to Rome, second Florentine period

The sculptor Donatello is in Rome from August 1432 to May 1433. Here, together with Brunelleschi, he measures the monuments of the city, studies ancient sculpture. According to legend, the locals considered the two friends to be treasure hunters. Roman impressions were reflected in such works as the tabernacle, made for the Chapel del Sacramento by order of Eugene IV (pope), the "Annunciation" (otherwise - the Cavalcanti Altarpiece, see photo below), the singing platform of one of the Florentine cathedrals, as well as the external pulpit, made for the cathedral in Prato (time of creation - 1434-1438).

Donatello achieves true classicism in the "Feast of Herod" relief, created upon his return from a trip to Rome.

About 1440, the sculptor creates bronze doors, as well as eight medallions for the Florentine Old Sacristy of SanLorenzo (period from 1435 to 1443). In four reliefs molded from knocking, an amazing freedom was achieved in the depiction of interiors, buildings and figures of people.

Padua period

Donatello goes to Padua in 1443. Here begins the next stage of his work. He performs an equestrian statue of Erasmo de Narni (statue of Gattamelata). Donatello cast it in 1447, and this work was installed a little later - in 1453. The monument to Marcus Aurelius served as an image. With the help of the diagonal, which is formed by the sword and rod of Gattamelata (Erasmo's nickname), as well as the position of the hands, the sculptor Donatello combined the figures of the horse and rider into a single silhouette. The sculptures he created during this period are truly magnificent. In addition to the above, he performs the altar of St. Anthony of Padua, as well as four reliefs depicting scenes from his life, which are considered the pinnacle of this master's work in picturesque relief.

Even when Donatello depicts real movement, as in two statues of St. John the Baptist in Florence (in the casa Martelli and in the Bargello), he confines himself to the most modest. In both cases, St. John is represented as walking, and everyone, down to the last toe, participates in this movement. A new secret has been wrested from nature.

A distinctive feature of Donatello's skill is that this sculptor depicted energy, strength, prettiness and grace with the same skill. For example, the bas-relief of a marble balcony in the Prato Cathedral, carved in 1434, depicts half-naked geniuses and children,who play musical instruments and dance with wreaths of flowers. Their movements are extremely lively, playful and varied. The same can be said about other marble bas-reliefs made for the Florence Cathedral.

Donatello hasn't worked much in recent years in Padua. Apparently, he is seriously ill. The sculptor returns to Florence in 1453 and continues to live here until his death (in 1466), with the exception of a short trip to Siena in 1457.

Late Florentine period

Many questions are raised by the late work of Donatello. This sculptor in the late period of creativity created not so many interesting works. At times there is talk of a decline in his skill, as well as a return to some gothic techniques. Sculpture by Donatello in the period from the 1450s to the early 1460s is represented by a statue of Mary Magdalene (1455, see photo below), made of wood, a group of "Judith and Holofernes", a statue of John the Baptist, reliefs on the themes of the Resurrection and the Passion of Christ two pulpits in the church of San Lorenzo. These works are dominated by the tragic theme that Donatello develops. The sculptor in execution adhered to naturalism, which bordered on a spiritual breakdown. A number of compositions were completed after the death of the master by his students - Bertoldo and Bellago.

The sculptor died in 1466. He was buried in the church of San Lorenzo, which is decorated with his work, with great honors. Thus ends the career of Donatello. Sculptor whose biography and works werepresented in this article, played a prominent role in world architecture. Note what it consisted of.

The meaning of this master's work

Donatello was a key figure in the history of Renaissance plastics. It was he who first began to systematically study the mechanism of movement of the human body, depicted a complex mass action, began to interpret clothing in connection with the plasticity of the body and movement, set the task of expressing an individual portrait in sculpture, and focused on the transfer of the mental life of characters. He perfected bronze casting and marble modeling. The three-plane relief he developed indicated the way for the further development of sculpture, as well as painting.