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The following catalog of works by the Florentine sculptor Donatello (born around 1386 in Florence; died on December 13, 1466, in Florence) is based on the monographs by H. W. Janson (1957), Ronald Lightbown (1980), and John Pope-Hennessy (1996), as well as the catalogs of the 2022/2023 exhibitions in Florence, Berlin and London. [1] In the case of unsigned or documented works, the attributions and dates are, as is usual, based predominantly on stylistic criteria and analogies to secured works. Many of the works attributed to Donatello were created in collaboration with other artists and with specialists in specific techniques.
The table is designed to be sorted in the best logical way possible, so that it can be used productively for searches, statistics and analysis (with many compromises; see below. The sorting function will also be available in the app sometime). Technical terms, places, etc., are only linked once at first appearance.
First of all, it must be said that almost none of Donatello's works at the time had an individual name or title (just as only a few were signed; sometimes they have inscriptions that were added later, as with the Campanile figures). In addition to the Habakkuk , which was quickly nicknamed Zuccone because of the figure's pumpkin-shaped head, the late Judith and the Dovizia on the main market square (today's Piazza della Repubblica) in Florence, which were unique at the time, to clearly identify a work, the addition of the place (or commissioner) and (if it was known) the artist's name was needed. Donatello's two statues of David are similarly exceptional cases; both were generally known to be the work of Donatello, but for the second, the bronze David for the Medici, it was necessary to differentiate by adding the location, the client or the material. Almost all the other sculptures were figures of Christ, the Madonna and the saints, which were ubiquitous subjects and comprised the entire iconographical canon of what could be represented up to that point.
The bronze David, the Pazzi Madonna and the Cavalcanti Annunciation are all so-called Notnamen , short names that have been created over time by art historians since the 19th century, which have become established (with variants) and, particularly in the case of popular works, have become established in general through art literature and cultural and travel guides. A very special case in this regard is the so-called Amor-Attis , Amor-At(t)ys and vice versa, or also Atys-Amorino, as Janson described it in his monograph, which is still fundamental to this day; the figure remains a mystery with its ambiguous ancient attributes. Another persistent enigma is of course the bronze David.
Perhaps contrary to expectations, in the table these Notnamen under "Subject/Name" follow (in italics) after a general descriptive name of the object (e.g. "Lion..., ( Marzocco )"), so that all prophet figures, for example, or the five John the Baptists can be brought together. Likewise, all Madonnas with the Christ Child are referred to as "Madonna and Child" so that they can be compared; the Pazzi Madonna, for example, can be found as "Madonna and Child (Pazzi Madonna)".
Donatello's documented collaborators and assistants are then named in small boldface, followed by uncertain attributions, dates or functions in small, bold and italic, which is a reference to missing documentation. Separating the largely undisputed works attributed to Donatello from those secured by documents or omitting them entirely would not allow an overall view of his oeuvre, to approximate the assumed simultaneous work on different genres and their chronological progression.
Under "Form" statues can be separated from works in relief, although simultaneously all, e.g., niche figures can also be brought together.
Donatello worked with a wide variety of materials, most often in innovative ways. In his time and also due to Donatello, in addition to marble, the complex and expensive bronze and cheap, easy-to-handle fired clay (terracotta) became the essential materials. The stone used is almost exclusively white marble, especially for the early statues of the Cathedral of Florence, the works in rilievo stiacciato (shallow relief), the tombs and the two pulpits from the 1430s. Techniques for bronze had almost been lost; their revival is associated above all with Lorenzo Ghiberti, in his doors for the Florence Baptistery and the statues for Orsanmichele, [lower-alpha 1] [lower-alpha 2] for which Donatello then made his first bronze figure, the Saint Louis of Toulouse (1418–1422).
The main material used for the main object of a work is always mentioned first, then its treatment and secondary materials (as in the "Saint Louis of Toulouse with niche", first "bronze, fire-gilt", then silver, enamel and rock crystal for the decoration of the bishop's crosier, and finally the marble for the niche in which the figure originally stood, which was also created by Donatello).
In the 15th century there was a locally applicable ell (or arm length) which could range between around 50 and 75 cm. The size of a sculpture may have been specified as such in contracts or described in sources. In Donatello's case, the Florentine braccio (Italian "arm") of 58.3 cm was used for the most part.
If the measurements of a work are not given in the table as height × width × depth (in centimeters), at minimum the height of a figure or the diameter (d) of a tondo will be given, if that was all that could be found in the literature.
When it comes to dating the work, a compromise had to be made in that the initial dates are decisive here. This means that for documented objects it is often the date of the (first) written commission or the decision to do so. However, as is often the case (at this time) and not only for Donatello, the completion of a work or even the beginning lay sometimes years in the future. The specified time period does not therefore mean the actual time that Donatello spent on a work. Especially since, even at the other end (that is, after Donatello had completed a sculpture), a considerable amount of time could pass before it was (as is often the case) primed and colored and also gilded by painters. The installation on site did not have to happen immediately, so such information in documents does not necessarily indicate the time at which the sculpture was finished.
The priority of the starting date ignores the fact that during the period of often non-continuous work on a work, the understanding, the general knowledge of the classical model, with which Donatello continuously dealt, as well as the access to a specific task could change. This means that during the work process a stylistic change could take place that was not foreseeable at the beginning, or technical difficulties (or other circumstances) could arise that had to be solved and perhaps lead to a different result from what was originally planned.
Examples here include the early works, especially the marble David, the possible reworkings of which have been the subject of much speculation. [4] Is the composition of the Saint Louis of Toulouse in several parts, rather than cast in one piece, as Ghiberti had done, due to Donatello's deficiencies in the knowledge of bronze casting, or was this based on a practical consideration regarding fire gilding or perhaps the complexity of the folds? The question of its open back (original or removed for Santa Croce?) will continue to concern art historians.
The locations always start with the city, then the building in or on which the work was or is located. Under original location there is also information that names the client or clients or allows conclusions to be drawn about them. An (early) relocation of a work is also noted (e.g., with both David figures). Today's location indicates in part the inventory number of the object ("Inv. xy") if it is part of a museum collection, if possible with a link to the institution's online catalog where – as with the Berlin collection – good images can be found, a detailed description and documentation, as well as a bibliography.
Important here are the controversial works, which have always been close to the discussion about Donatello's œuvre, but which have been rejected from the catalogs of works that can be considered secure. Particularly worth mentioning here are the portrait bust of Niccolò da Uzzano, the Saint Peter at Orsanmichele and the Hildburgh Madonna and its derivatives.
Furthermore, the nature of the second table means that it cannot be complete. As far as casts and variants of mostly smaller to minute works are concerned, there may be a huge number scattered throughout museums and private collections that have received undocumented attributions based solely on stylistic similarities or technical details. This also applies to works based on Donatello's designs since the supposed designs no longer exist. The heraldic shields in particular, often with Donatello's trademark, the spiritelli, are probably all workshop products at best. Due to the lack of sources, there is no section for original location here, but one for the attribution appears as second column.
All of the works listed in the second table may be considered examples, with an obvious emphasis on works from the Skulpturensammlung in the Bode Museum, Berlin, for historical and practical reasons. On the one hand, the early Italian Renaissance and Donatello in particular have been the focus of collecting activities and research since the end of the 19th century, especially of Wilhelm von Bode, which was then essentially continued to this day. This is reflected in today's online catalog, wherein most of the works are excellently documented. [5] This is also a reason for selecting the pieces from other museums, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, which was similarly engaged as Berlin, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, the Detroit Institute of Arts, and of course the museums in Florence itself, Donatello's birthplace and the center of his professional life. [6]
Image | Subject/Name | Form | Material | Dimensions (in cm) | Dating | Original location | Current location |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Prophet | statue | marble | 128 | 1406 | Florence, Santa Maria del Fiore, Porta della Mandorla | Florence, Museo dell'Opera del Duomo | |
Christ as the Man of Sorrows | relief | marble | 1407–1408 | Florence, Santa Maria del Fiore, Porta della Mandorla | Florence, Museo dell'Opera del Duomo. Copy on original site | ||
Crucifix | statue (demountable, with retractable arms) | wood, gesso primer, painted | 170 × 166 × 35 | 1407–1408 | Florence, Santa Croce, north transept | Florence, Santa Croce, Cappella Bardi di Vernio | |
Creation of Eve, Damnation of Eve and Adam, Expulsion from Eden, The Labour of Adam and Eve – function, attribution and date arguable [7] | reliefs (4), octagonal, probably for a hope chest ( cassone ) | terracotta, lead-glazed, partly gilded | 1408 | c.unknown | London, Victoria and Albert Museum (Inv. ? 3) and one in Florence, Museo dell'Opera del Duomo | ||
David (with the head of Goliath; marble David) | statue | marble, originally with cord of the sling | 191.5 × 78.5 × 42 | 1408–1409, 1416 | Florence, Santa Maria del Fiore, planned for north tribune; Palazzo della Signoria, Sala dei Gigli (1416) | Florence, Bargello (since 1781, Inv. Sc. 2) | |
Saint John the Evangelist | statue in niche, sitting | marble | 210 | 1408–1415 [8] | Florence, Santa Maria del Fiore, façade | Florence, Museo dell'Opera del Duomo | |
Prophet Joshua | statue | terracotta, stucco, white-washed | 550 | c.1409–1412 | Florence, Santa Maria del Fiore, north tribune | deteriorated, not preserved | |
Madonna and Child | statue | terracotta, gesso primer, painted | 1410–1412 | unknown | Empoli, Pontorme, San Martino | ||
Saint Mark | statue in niche | marble | 236 × 74 (with base) | 1411–1413 [9] | Florence, Orsanmichele, niche of the Arte dei Linaioli e Rigattieri (Guild of linen manufacturers and retail cloth dealers) | Florence, Orsanmichele, Museum. Copy at original site | |
Madonna and Child – attribution and date arguable | statue, sitting | terracotta, originally primed and painted | 73 × 45.3 × 36.5 | 1414 | c.unknown | London, Victoria and Albert Museum (Inv. 7573-1861) | |
Madonna and Child – attribution and date arguable | statue, sitting | terracotta, gesso primer, painted | 68.6 × 37.8 × 38.1 38.1 kg | 1414 | c.unknown | Detroit, Institute of Arts (Inv. 40.19) | |
Madonna and Child ( Huldschinsky Madonna ) – attribution and date arguable | statue, half figure | terracotta, originally primed and painted | 90 × 75 × 24 | 1415 | c.unknown | Berlin, Bode Museum (formerly Kaiser Friedrich Museum), Sculpture Collection and Museum of Byzantine Art (since 1892, Inv. 1940) | |
Saint George and
| statue in niche with low reliefs | marble, probably at times with lance or sword and helmet (metal) | 204 × 78 × 34 base relief: 39 × 120 | 1415–1417 | c.Florence, Orsanmichele, north side, niche of the Arte dei Corazzai e Spadai (Guild of the armourers and swordsmiths) | Florence, Bargello (in copied niche). Copy at original site | |
Madonna and Child with Two Angels | tabernacle, relief | terracotta, originally primed and painted | 96.5 × 67.5 × 13.5 | 1415–1420 | c.unknown | Prato, Museo di Palazzo Pretorio (since 1871, Inv. 1876) | |
Prophets:
| statues in niches (first two of six) | marble | 190 × 59 × 43, 193 × 64 × 44 (incl. plinth) | 1416–1418 and 1418–1420 | Florence, Santa Maria del Fiore, Campanile (all four on north side were moved to the east side in 1464) [10] | Florence, Museo dell'Opera del Duomo (copies on east site) [11] | |
Lion with coat of arms of Florence ( Marzocco ) | statue on column | sandstone (macigno), marble, rosso di Maremma | 135.5 × 38 × 60 | 1418–1420 | Florence, Santa Maria Novella, stairs to papal chambers | Florence, Bargello | |
Saint John the Baptist with Nanni di Bartolo, revised unfinished Joshua by Bernardo Ciuffagni [12] | statue in niche (third of six) | marble | 207 × 65 × 44 | 1420–1421 | Florence, Santa Maria del Fiore, Campanile | Florence, Museo dell'Opera del Duomo (copy on original site) [13] | |
Saint Louis of Toulouse with niche perhaps with Michelozzo di Bartolommeo | statue and architecture of aedicula | bronze, fire-gilded ( ormolu ), silver, enamel, rock crystal and marble | 285 × 101 × 78 | 1418–1422 | c.Florence, Orsanmichele, east side, niche of the Parte Guelfa, moved c. 1440s–1450s to niche above portal of Santa Croce; since 1483 Verrocchio's Doubting Thomas has occupied the original niche | Florence, Museo dell'Opera di Santa Croce | |
Madonna and Child ( Madonna of the Cords ) – attribution and date arguable | relief | terracotta, gesso primer, painted | 89 × 64 × 28 | 1420–1423 | c.unknown | Florence, Museo Civici Fiorentini – Museo Stefano Bardini (Inv. MCF-MB 1922-682) | |
Flagellation of Christ – function, attribution and date arguable | relief, low | marble | 46.5 × 57.5 × 5 | 1420–1425 | c.unknown | Moscow, Pushkin Museum, 1893–1945 in Berlin, Kaiser Friedrich Museum (henceforth solely as plaster cast) | |
Abraham and Isaac with Nanni di Bartolo | statue in niche (fourth of six) | marble | 188 × 56 × 45 | 1421 | Florence, Santa Maria del Fiore, Campanile | Florence, Museo dell'Opera del Duomo (copy on east side of Campanile) | |
Tomb of Antipope John XXIII: tomb effigy. base, statues of virtues, sarcophagus, lunette with Madonna and Child, baldachin with Michelozzo and Pagno di Lapo Portigiani | Tomb effigy, architecture, relief | marble, partly painted and gilded, bronze, fire-gilded | 213 (length of effigy) | 1421–1427 | c.Florence, Baptistery | Florence, Baptistery | |
Prophet and Sibyl [14] | relief, profile busts | marble | 64, each | 1422 | Florence, Santa Maria del Fiore, Porta della Mandorla | Florence, Santa Maria del Fiore, Porta della Mandorla | |
Madonna and Child ( Pazzi Madonna ) | relief, low | marble | 74.5 × 73 × 6.5 | 1422 | c.unknown; thought to have been owned by the Pazzi family | Berlin, Bode Museum (since 1886, Inv. 51) | |
Reliquary Bust of Saint Rossore (= Saint Luxorius) [15] [16] | bust, reliquary with lit and halo (lost) | bronze, fire-gilded | 55 × 58 × 42 | 1422–1425 | c.Florence, Ognissanti, since 1591 in Pisa, Santo Stefano dei Cavalieri [17] | Pisa, Museo nazionale di San Matteo (since 1977) | |
Prophet Jeremiah | statue in niche (fifth of six) | marble | 191 × 45 × 45 | 1423 | c.Florence, Santa Maria del Fiore, west side of Campanile | Florence, Museo dell'Opera del Duomo (copy on original site) | |
Saint John the Baptist [18] | statue | bronze, patinated | 90.5 × 36.5 × 30 | 1423–24 | Orvieto, Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta, baptismal font – uncertain | Moscow, Pushkin Museum, 1878 from Palazzo Strozzi until 1945 in Berlin, Kaiser Friedrich Museum (henceforth solely as plaster cast) | |
Feast of Herod | relief (one on the hexagonal parapet) | bronze, fire-gilded | 60 × 61 | 1423–1427 | Siena, Baptistery, baptismal font | Siena, Baptistery | |
Madonna and Child with Four Angels (Madonna of the Clouds) | relief | marble | 34 × 32.1 × 2.8 | 1425–1430 | c.Florence, Palazzo vecchio di Medici, guardaroba of Cosimo (died 1464); afterwards in possession of Piero del Pugliese | Boston, Museum of Fine Arts (Inv. 17.1470) | |
Prophet Habakkuk ( Zuccone ) | statue in niche (last of six) | marble | 195 × 54 × 38 | 1426 – c. 1427 and 1435–1436 | Florence, Santa Maria del Fiore, Campanile | Florence, Museo dell'Opera del Duomo (copy on west side of the Campanile) | |
Tomb of Cardinal Rainaldo Brancacci: Annunciation relief all other design and execution by Michelozzo (and workshop) | relief, low; tomb monument with statues and reliefs, partly painted and gilded | marble | 74 × 78 (relief) | 1426–1428 | Naples, Sant'Angelo a Nilo | Naples, Sant'Angelo a Nilo | |
Faith and Hope | statuettes, two (of six) corner figures | bronze, fire-gilded | 52, each | 1427–1429 | Siena, Baptistery, baptismal font | Siena, Baptistery | |
Ascension with Christ Giving the Keys to Saint Peter | relief, low | marble | 41 × 115 | 1428–1430 | Florence; 1492 owned by Lorenzo de' Medici, then by the Salviati until after 1677 [19] | London, Victoria and Albert Museum (Inv. 7629-1861) | |
Blood of the Redeemer | relief | marble | 39.8 × 67 | 1429–1430 | Siena (province), Torrita di Siena, Oratorio della Madonna delle Nevi | Siena (province), Torrita di Siena, Chiesa delle Sante Flora e Lucilla | |
Spiritelli, making music with trumpet resp. tambourine | statuettes | bronze, fire-gilded | 40 × 20 × 15.8 36.2 × 14.7 × 16.2 | 1429 | Siena, Baptistery, baptismal font | Siena, Baptistery, baptismal font (with trumpet), Berlin, Bode Museum (Inv. 2653); a third perhaps in Florence, Bargello (Inv. ) | |
[20] | Dovizia (on the Colonna dell'Abbondanza) | statue on column | sandstone (macigno) | 1431 | Florence, Mercato (vecchio), now Piazza della Repubblica | deteriorated and destroyed in a fall in 1721 (replaced with a version by Giovanni Battista Foggini, itself now replaced by a copy) | |
Tomb slab for the papal secretary Giovanni Crivelli | relief, low | marble | 235 × 88 | 1432 | Rome, Santa Maria in Ara Coeli | Rome, Santa Maria in Ara Coeli | |
Tabernacle (for the Eucharist) | relief | marble | 225 × 120 | 1432 | Rome, Apostolic Palace, Capella Parva | Rome (Vatican), St. Peter's Basilica | |
Altar piece (Cavalcanti Annunciation) | relief in tabernacle, group of six statuettes | sandstone (macigno), painted white/gray with gilding terracotta (spiritelli) | 419 | 1433–1435 | c.Florence, Santa Croce, for the Cavalcanti family chapel | Florence, Santa Croce | |
Pulpit for organ or singers, Cantoria | reliefs of triforium on corbels and columns | marble, mosaic, bronze | 348 × 570 | 1433–1439 | Florence, Santa Maria del Fiore | Florence, Museo dell'Opera del Duomo | |
Coronation of the Virgin (design) [21] | leadlight, oculus | cartoon | 380 | c.1434–1437 | Florence, Santa Maria del Fiore, eastern arch of the crossing (above the choir) | Florence, Santa Maria del Fiore | |
Pulpit of the Holy Girdle in part by workshop by Michelozzo [22]
planned with Michelozzo, executed by workshop (Pagno di Lapo Portigiani) and specialists on the spot | reliefs (seven) | marble, mosaic (glass casting, glazed ceramic, formerly gilded tesserae) for parapet bronze, fire-gilded (capital) | 77 × 86 × 12 (each relief) 94.5 × 143.5 × 50 (capital) | 1434–1438 (parapet, after new contract) commission of 1428, cast of capital at the end of 1433 | Prato, Cathedral (then Pieve di Santo Stefano), southwest corner of façade | Prato, Cathedral and Cathedral Museum (1976, Inv. AGJ2748, [...] and AGJ1829); copies on original site | |
Old Sacristy [23]
architecture designed by Filippo Brunelleschi | reliefs, architectural frames | bronze (doors), painted stucco (tondi and lunettes), sandstone (macigno) | 215d (tondi without molding) c. 215 × 180 (lunettes without frame) 235 × 109 (each door with ten reliefs of 36.5 × 33.5 l, 34.5 r, both 35 at bottom) | c.1434–1443 | Florence, San Lorenzo | Florence, San Lorenzo | |
Feast of Herod | relief, low | marble | 50 × 71.3 × 5 | 1435 | c.unknown | Lille, Palais des Beaux-Arts (Inv. Pl 1912) | |
Madonna and Child (Goretti Miniati Madonna) | relief | marble | 62.6 × 43.5; 5 (relief) | 1435 | c.unknown | Florence, Bargello (Inv. Sc 470) | |
Dead Christ Tended by Angels (Imago Pietatis) – function, attribution and date arguable | relief, low | marble | 80.5 × 114.3 × 6 | 1435 | c.unknown | London, Victoria and Albert Museum (Inv. 7577-1861) | |
David with Sword and Severed Head of Goliath (bronze David) | statue on column (lost or as remains, original height over 2 m) | bronze, partly fire-gilded marble (attributed column remains) | 159 | 1435–1440 | Florence, Casa Vecchia de' Medici, perhaps at first in the old Medici palace; after 1457 in the court of Palazzo Medici; 1495 in the court of Palazzo della Signoria | Florence, Bargello | |
Spiritello ( Amor-Attis ) | statue | bronze, partly fire-gilded | 103 × 55 × 45 | 1435–1440 | c.Florence | Florence, Bargello (since 1778, Inv. Br. 448) | |
Spiritelli candle-holders (two) | statuettes, candelabra | bronze, gilding | 58.5 × 42 × 28 65 × 32.5 × 22 | 1436–1438 | c.Florence, Santa Maria del Fiore, for organ pulpit by Luca della Robbia | Paris, Institut de France, Musée Jacquemart-André (Inv. MJAP-S 1773-1 and 2) | |
Saint John the Baptist | statue | wood, gesso primer/stucco, painted and gilded | 1438 | Venice, Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari | Venice, Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari | ||
Saint Lawrence – attribution and date arguable | half figure | terracotta, formerly painted | 74.5 × 62 | 1440 | c.private ownership | ||
Madonna and Child (Dudley Madonna) | relief, low | marble | 27.2 × 16.5 × 2 | 1440 | c.unknown | London, Victoria and Albert Museum (Inv. A.84-1927) | |
Madonna and Child ( Piot Madonna ) | relief | terracotta, wax, glass, formerly gilded | 74 × 75 × 7 | 1440 | c.unknown | Paris, Louvre (since 1890, Inv. RF 3967) | |
Madonna and Child (Madonna of the Cherubs) | relief with intarsia | terracotta, gesso primer/stucco, painted and gilded | 99.6 × 69.5 20 | 1440–1445 | c.unknown | Berlin, Bode Museum (since 1888, Inv. 54) | |
Madonna and Child (Madonna dell'Umiltà Crowned by Two Angels) | relief tondo, gilded (in tabernacle by Desiderio da Settignano or Andrea Verrocchio) | bronze, fire-gilded | 27 d (87 × 51 × 12) | 1440–1445 (tabernacle shortly after) | c.unknown | Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Kunstkammer (Inv. KK 7462) | |
Mary Magdalene ( Penitent Magdalene ) | statue | wood, gesso primer/stucco, painted and gilded | 188 | 1440–1442 | Florence, Baptistery | Florence, Museo dell'Opera del Duomo | |
Crucifix | statue on cross | wood, gesso primer/stucco, painted | 192 × 185 | 1440–1445 | Padua, Santa Maria dei Servi | Padua, Santa Maria dei Servi | |
Saint John the Baptist (San Giovannino Martelli) – function, attribution and date arguable | statue, in the round, with halo and rod with cross | marble, gilded bronze | 159.5 (165) × 46.5 × 36 | 1442 | c.Florence, Casa Martelli | Florence, Bargello (1913 from the Martelli family, Inv. Sc. 435) | |
Crucifix | statue on cross | bronze | 176 × 170 × 41 | 1443/44–1448/49 | Padua, Basilica di Sant'Antonio, rood screen | Padua, Museo Antoniano | |
Madonna and Child | relief, low | terracotta, gesso primer/stucco, painted | 102 × 74 × 12, 112 kg | 1445–1455 | c.Val d'Elsa, Vigliano, San Lorenzo chapel | Paris, Louvre (1881, Inv. RF 353) | |
High altar
| statues (7) and 22 reliefs | bronze, patinated, partly fire-gilded (statues and reliefs) limestone (Entombment), white and colored marble (altar) | 123–164 (statues) c. 57 × 123 or 57 (each relief) | 1446–1449 | Padua, Basilica of Saint Anthony | Padua, Basilica of Saint Anthony (19th-century reconstruction) [24] | |
Gattamelata Monument (Condottiere Erasmo da Narni) | Equestrian statue on pedestal with two reliefs and inscription | bronze, patinated marble (reliefs and plinth) sandstone (pedestal) | 1446–1453 | c.Padua, Piazza Sant'Antonio | Padua, Piazza Sant'Antonio | ||
Tomb slap of Giovanni Pecci (Bishop of Grosseto, died 1427) | relief, low | bronze, enamel inlays with glass, mostly lost | 249.5 × 106.8 × 3 | 1448–1450 | Siena, Cathedral, crossing, moved to Saint Ansanus chapel (under Pecci patronage) in the 16th century | Siena, Cathedral, Saint Ansanus chapel | |
Flagellation of Christ and Crucifixion, predella frieze with spiritelli (Forzori Altar); bozzetto | relief, low, damaged | terracotta | 53.5 × 27.1 × 4.5 (Flagellation) 54.7 × 30.5 × 5 (Crucifixion) 11.2 × 48.5 × 2.3 (predella) | 1450 | c.Florence, owned by Forzori family | London, Victoria and Albert Museum (Inv. 7619 1-3-1861) | |
Madonna and Child | relief, low | terracotta, gesso, painted | 70 × 55 × 2 | 1450 | c.unknown | Paris, Louvre (1986, Inv. RF 744) | |
Calvary (Camondo Calvary) – function, attribution and date arguable | relief, low | bronze, formerly partly gilded | 42.8 × 28.7 × 4.5 | 1450–1452 | unknown (private commission) | Paris, Louvre (1897, Inv. OA 6477) | |
Madonna and Child with Four Angels ( Chellini Madonna ) | relief tondo, low, reverse shows negative of relief usable to cast copies | bronze, gilded | 28.5 d, 2.7, 4.2 kg | 1450–1455 | Florence; gift of Donatello to his doctor Giovanni Chellini | London, Victoria and Albert Museum (Inv. A.I-1976) | |
Judith and Holofernes | sculptural group on triangular pedestal with three reliefs | bronze | 236 | 1453–1457 | Florence, Palazzo Medici, garden; after 1494 in the Loggia dei Lanzi on the Piazza della Signoria | Florence, Palazzo Vecchio | |
Saint John the Baptist | statue | bronze | 185 | 1455 | c.Siena, Cathedral | Siena, Cathedral | |
Bearded Head (Prophet?) – function, attribution and date arguable | bust | bronze | 37 × 23 × 27 | 1455 | c.Florence | Florence, Bargello (Inv. Br. 101) | |
Madonna and Child (Seggiolino Madonna) | relief | terracotta, gilded | 74.3 × 55.9 | 1455 | c.London, Victoria and Albert Museum (Inv. 57:1&2-1867) | ||
Calvary | relief, low | bronze, partly gilded, silver, gilded copper | 93 × 70 × 3.5 | 1455–1465 | Florence, private commission; from the 16th century owned by the Medici | Florence, Bargello (Inv. Br. 443) | |
Horse's Head (Protome Carafa) – function, attribution and date arguable | protome, probably part of an equestrian statue not executed | bronze | 187 × 185 × 80 | 1456 | Naples, Castel Nuovo, triumphal arch (planned, commission by Alfonso of Aragon, died 1458) | Naples, Museo Archeologico Nazionale (Inv. 4887), from the Palazzo Carafa | |
Madonna and Child (Madonna del Perdono) | relief | marble, white and colored | 91 × 88.2 | 1458 | c.Siena, Cathedral, Vergine delle Grazie chapel | Siena, Museo dell'Opera del'Duomo | |
Lamentation over the Dead Christ; probably a bozzetto | relief, chasing | bronze | 32.1 × 41.7 × 6.3 | 1458–1460 | Siena; probably planned for the bronze doors of the Cathedral | London, Victoria and Albert Museum (Inv. 8552-1863) | |
Passion and Resurrection scenes completion by Bartolomeo Bellano, Bertoldo di Giovanni and others – original function unclear | reliefs (), mounted into a free-standing chancel in the 16th century | bronze | 123 × 292 | 1461–1466 | Florence, San Lorenzo | Florence, San Lorenzo |
Image | Attribution | Subject/Name | Form | Material | Dimensions (in cm) | Year | Location |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Donatello attributed [25] | Madonna and Child | relief | terracotta, gesso primer/stucco, painted, wooden back | 102.5 × 62.2 × 28.3 | 1410–1415 | c.Washington, National Gallery of Art, Samuel L. Kress Collection (Inv. 1943.4.93) | |
Nanni di Bartolo | Madonna and Child | statue | terracotta, painted | 47 × 35 × 10.5 | 1420 | c.Berlin, Bode Museum (since 1913, Inv. M 7174) | |
Donatello workshop | Madonna and Child with Four Angels ( Hildburgh Madonna ) – function, attribution and date arguable | relief, low | marble | 41.5 × 32.5 × 3.4 | 1420–1430 | c.London, Victoria and Albert Museum (Inv. A.98-1956) | |
after Hildburgh Madonna attributed to Donatello | Madonna and Child, Two Angels, Saint Bartholomew and a Crowned Saint | tabernacle, relief | stucco, gilded and painted | 40.6 × 30.5 (relief) 76.2 × 38.1 × 7.5 | 1420–1430 | c.London, Victoria and Albert Museum (Inv. 93-1882) | |
Donatello attributed | Nativity of Christ (Ford Nativity) | relief | terracotta, formerly painted and gilded | 47 × 35.6 × 8.3 (incl. frame: 82.6 × 48.3 × 8.3) | 1420–1430 | c.Detroit, Institute of Arts (Inv. F76.92) | |
Donatello attributed | Madonna and Child (Mellon Madonna) | statue | terracotta, painted and gilded | 120.8 × 47.2 × 33.5 | 1422 | c.Washington, National Gallery of Art, A. Mellon Collection (Inv. 1937.I.112) | |
after Donatello | Madonna and Child in a niche | relief, low | bronze, gilded | 20.5 × 15.5 × 1 | 1426–1430 (prototype) | c.Berlin, Bode Museum (Inv. 3044) [26] | |
after Donatello | Madonna and Child in a niche | relief, low | bronze, gilded | 20.4 × 15.3 × 8 | 1426–1430 (prototype) | c.Washington, National Gallery of Art, Samuel L. Kress Collection (Inv. 1957.14.131) | |
after Donatello | Madonna and Child (Maria lactans) | relief, low | lead | 11.3 × 9.3 | 1430 | c.Berlin, Bode Museum (Inv. 1028) [27] | |
unknown, perhaps Michelozzo di Bartolomeo | Madonna and Child before a niche | relief, low, plaquette | Copper alloy | 9.8 × 7.8 | 1430 | c.London, Wallace Collection (Inv. S299) [28] | |
perhaps workshop of Donatello and Michelozzo | Spiritelli with Escutcheon | relief, low | sandstone (pietra serena?), probably originally painted | 59.5 × 61 × 5 | 1432 | c.Berlin, Bode Museum (since 1916, Inv. 7210) | |
Paolo Schiavo, painted and framed relief after model by Donatello | Madonna and Child Between Angels, God the Father, Eve and a Crowned Prophet | tabernacle, relief | stucco (relief) in wooden framing, painted and gilded | 12.1 × 9.5 (relief) 36.5 × 20.2 × 5.2 | 1435 | c.London, Victoria and Albert Museum (Inv. A.45-1926) | |
perhaps Donatello workshop | Spiritello with Fish | statuette, probably from a font at a wall | bronze | 40.5 × 40.4 × 11, 7 kg | 1435–1440 | London, Victoria and Albert Museum (Inv. 475-1864) | |
after Donatello | Madonna and Child (Pugliese Dudley Madonna) | relief, low | stucco, painted | 31.5 × 21 | 1440 (prototype) | c.Berlin, Bode Museum (Inv. 2627) | |
Desiderio da Settignano, alt. Donatello attributed | Bust of Niccolò da Uzzano | portrait bust | terracotta, painted | 46 h | 1440–1455 | Florence, Bargello | |
perhaps Donatello workshop | Madonna and Child (Madonna dei Cordai) | relief | stucco, leather, glass and wax on wood, painted, gilded and silvered | 93 × 78 | 1440–1460 | Florence, Museo Bardini | |
after Donatello | Madonna and Child | relief, low | stucco, painted | 99 × 66.6 × 11.5 | 1450 (prototype) | c.Berlin, Bode Museum (Inv. 2634) | |
Donatello workshop | Madonna and Child (copy of Pazzi Madonna) | relief in tabernacle | terracotta, painted and gilded | 70 × 55 × 2 (relief only) | 1450 | c.Paris, Louvre (Inv. RF 744) | |
Donatello attributed | Playing Cherubs (Spiritelli) | relief | bronze | 4.8 × 8.4 × 0.5 | 1450s (mid-15th century) | Detroit, Institute of Arts (Inv. F70.32) | |
Donatello attributed | Coat of arms of the Martelli Family | relief | sandstone (macigno), primer, painted | 109.2 | 1450s (mid-15th century) | Detroit Institute of Arts (1925, Inv. 25.156) | |
Donatello attributed or the model executed under his direction by the workshop of Desiderio and Geri da Settignano [29] | Coat of arms of the Martelli family | relief | sandstone (pietra serena), partly painted and gilded | 1455 | c.Florence, Bargello (Inv. 532 S) | ||
after Donatello | Crucifixion | relief, low | stucco on poplar with remnants of gilding | 36.5 × 26.5 × 7.5 | 1455–1470 | Berlin, Bode Museum (Inv. 53) | |
Desiderio da Settignano [30] | Coat of arms of the Boni family | relief | sandstone (pietra serena) | 215.9 × 74.3 | 1456–1458 | c.Detroit, Institute of Arts (Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Edsel B. Ford, Inv. 41.124) | |
Cast after a lost model attributed to Donatello | David with the Severed Head of Goliath; probably a bozzetto | statuette | bronze (after a wax model) | 36.8 × 10.3 × 10 | 1460–1465 | Berlin, Bode Museum (Inv. 2262) | |
Donatello attributed | Madonna and Child with Five Angels; probably a bozzetto | relief | terracotta, originally painted | 21.5 × 15.5 × 4.2 | 1465 | c.Berlin, Bode Museum (Inv. M 88) |
Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi, known mononymously as Donatello, was an Italian sculptor of the Renaissance period. Born in Florence, he studied classical sculpture and used his knowledge to develop an Early Renaissance style of sculpture. He spent time in other cities, where he worked on commissions and taught others; his periods in Rome, Padua, and Siena introduced to other parts of Italy the techniques he had developed in the course of a long and productive career. His David was the first freestanding nude male sculpture since antiquity; like much of his work it was commissioned by the Medici family.
Lorenzo Ghiberti, born Lorenzo di Bartolo, was an Italian Renaissance sculptor from Florence, a key figure in the Early Renaissance, best known as the creator of two sets of bronze doors of the Florence Baptistery, the later one called by Michelangelo the Gates of Paradise. Trained as a goldsmith and sculptor, he established an important workshop for sculpture in metal. His book of Commentarii contains important writing on art, as well as what may be the earliest surviving autobiography by any artist.
Luca della Robbia was an Italian Renaissance sculptor from Florence. Della Robbia is noted for his colorful, tin-glazed terracotta statuary, a technique that he invented and passed on to his nephew Andrea della Robbia and great-nephews Giovanni della Robbia and Girolamo della Robbia. Although a leading sculptor in stone, after developing his technique in the early 1440s he worked primarily in terracotta. His large workshop produced both less expensive works cast from molds in multiple versions, and more expensive one-off individually modeled pieces.
Andrea del Verrocchio was an Italian sculptor, painter and goldsmith who was a master of an important workshop in Florence.
Jacopo della Quercia, also known as Jacopo di Pietro d'Agnolo di Guarnieri, was an Italian sculptor of the Renaissance, a contemporary of Brunelleschi, Ghiberti and Donatello. He is considered a precursor of Michelangelo.
Florence Cathedral, formally the Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Flower, is the cathedral of Florence, Italy. It was begun in 1296 in the Gothic style to a design of Arnolfo di Cambio and was structurally completed by 1436, with the dome engineered by Filippo Brunelleschi. The exterior of the basilica is faced with polychrome marble panels in various shades of green and pink, bordered by white, and has an elaborate 19th-century Gothic Revival façade by Emilio De Fabris.
Desiderio da Settignano, real name Desiderio de Bartolomeo di Francesco detto Ferro was an Italian Renaissance sculptor active in north Italy.
David is a bronze statue of the biblical hero by the Italian Early Renaissance sculptor Donatello. Nude except for helmet and boots, it dates to the 1440s or later. It is famous as the first unsupported standing work of bronze cast during the Renaissance, and the first freestanding nude male sculpture made since antiquity. It depicts David with an enigmatic smile, posed with his foot on Goliath's severed head just after defeating the giant. The youth is completely naked, apart from a laurel-topped hat and boots, and bears the sword of Goliath.
The Florence Baptistery, also known as the Baptistery of Saint John, is a religious building in Florence, Italy. Dedicated to the patron saint of the city, John the Baptist, it has been a focus of religious, civic, and artistic life since its completion. The octagonal baptistery stands in both the Piazza del Duomo and the Piazza San Giovanni, between Florence Cathedral and the Archbishop's Palace.
The Basilica di San Lorenzo is one of the largest churches of Florence, Italy, situated at the centre of the main market district of the city, and it is the burial place of all the principal members of the Medici family from Cosimo il Vecchio to Cosimo III. It is one of several churches that claim to be the oldest in Florence, having been consecrated in 393 AD, at which time it stood outside the city walls. For three hundred years it was the city's cathedral, before the official seat of the bishop was transferred to Santa Reparata.
The Tomb of Antipope John XXIII is the marble-and-bronze tomb monument of Antipope John XXIII, created by Donatello and Michelozzo for the Florence Baptistry adjacent to the Duomo. It was commissioned by the executors of Cossa's will after his death on December 22, 1419 and completed during the 1420s, establishing it as one of the early landmarks of Renaissance Florence. According to Ferdinand Gregorovius, the tomb is "at once the sepulchre of the Great Schism in the church and the last papal tomb which is outside Rome itself".
The Penitent Magdalene is a wooden sculpture of Mary Magdalene by the Italian Renaissance sculptor Donatello, now usually dated to around 1440. The sculpture was probably commissioned for the Baptistery of Florence. The piece was received with astonishment for its unprecedented realism. It is now in the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo in Florence. The wood used by Donatello is that of white poplar.
The Feast of Herod is a bronze relief sculpture created by Donatello circa 1427. It was made for the font of the Siena Baptistery of San Giovanni in Italy. It is one of Donatello's earliest relief sculptures, and his first bronze relief. The sculpture is noted for Donatello's use of perspective. The piece is 60 by 61 centimeters.
Stiacciato (Tuscan) or schiacciato is a technique where a sculptor creates a very shallow relief sculpture with carving only millimetres deep. The rilievo stiacciato is primarily associated with Donatello (1386–1466).
Saint Louis of Toulouse is a gilded bronze sculpture of Louis of Toulouse by Donatello with a marble niche all'antica on the facade of Orsanmichele, executed in 1423–1425. It is now in the refectory of the Museo di Santa Croce in Florence.
The San Rossore Reliquary is a gilded bronze sculpture of 1424–1427 by Donatello. The monks of Ognissanti, Florence had acquired the skull of Saint Luxorius in 1422 and two years later they commissioned the reliquary to house it. The casting was handled by Jacopo degli Stroza who created it of five individual cold-assembled parts. The sculpture is documented as being in Pisa in 1591 and is now in the city's Museo Nazionale di San Matteo.
The Huldschinsky Madonna is a terracotta sculpture from the beginning of the 15th century, most probably from around 1410–1415. It is attributed to Donatello, an attribution based on the structure of the drapery, which is no longer simply a means of expression and decoration as in Gothic art but is instead more naturalistic and observed from life, following a strict dialogue with the anatomical forms beneath it and obeying the rules of gravity. The work's attention to detail such as the fringes on the clothing also recalls the artist's other works such as the marble David. The sculpture was formerly painted. It has been in the Bode Museum in Berlin since being donated by Oscar Huldschinsky in 1892 in Florence, who himself never owned it.
Italian Renaissance sculpture was an important part of the art of the Italian Renaissance, in the early stages arguably representing the leading edge. The example of Ancient Roman sculpture hung very heavily over it, both in terms of style and the uses to which sculpture was put. In complete contrast to painting, there were many surviving Roman sculptures around Italy, above all in Rome, and new ones were being excavated all the time, and keenly collected. Apart from a handful of major figures, especially Michelangelo and Donatello, it is today less well-known than Italian Renaissance painting, but this was not the case at the time.
Nanni di Bartolo, also known as "il Rosso", was a Florentine sculptor of the Early Renaissance, a slightly younger contemporary of Donatello. His dates of birth and death are not known, but he is recorded as an active master from 1419 to 1451.
David is a marble statue of the biblical hero by the Italian Early Renaissance sculptor Donatello. An early work of Donatello's, the statue features a clothed figure. It was made in 1408–09 and 1416. In the 1440s or later Donatello made a far more famous bronze figure of David, nearly naked. Both are now in the Museo Nazionale del Bargello in Florence. The marble statue was Donatello's most important commission up to that point, and had a religious context, commissioned for Florence Cathedral.