Donatello- Notable Biographies

(Unknown - 1466/12/13)

Donatello
Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi
Italian sculptor

He was born in 1386 in Florence, son of a charger of wool.
When he was 17 years old he worked as Assistant to Lorenzo Ghiberti in the construction and decoration of the bronze doors of the baptistery of San Juan de Florencia. Some time later, he also collaborated with Filippo Brunelleschi.
You can set three periods in his career. The first takes place until 1425, and in it you can see influence of Gothic sculpture, although it also reveals trends in classical and realistic; among the sculptures of this period include the statues of St. Mark (1411-1412, Church of Orsanmichele, Florence), Saint George (1415-1417, Bargello, Florence), Saint John the Evangelist (1413-1415, Opera del Duomo, Florence) and Joshua (1418, campanile of the Cathedral of Florence). The second period (1425-1443) is dominated by the use of models and sculptural principles of classical antiquity.
To 1443, he moved his workshop to Padua. Between 1425 and 1435, he worked with the sculptor and Florentine architect Michelozzo in several projects, among which is the monument dedicated to Bartolomeo Aragazzi (Cathedral of Montepulciano). Between 1430 and 1433 he traveled several times to Rome, where he created several works, of which the most notable is Goblet of the sacristy of St. Peter's basilica, decorated with reliefs of the worship of angels and the burial of Christ. However, it was in Florence where the work remarkable for this period, its David in bronze (c. 1430-1435, Bargello), first naked free Renaissance sculpture created.
His third term moves away from the classical influence and puts greater emphasis on realism and the drama of the action: the miracles of san Antonio (San Antonio, Padua); The Gattamelata (in the square which is in front of the basilica of San Antonio) and Judith and Holofernes (Piazza della Signoria, Florence).
Donatello died in Florence from December 13, 1466.