Donatello
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Donatello was an important sculptor of the early Renaissance. This was an era begun in Italy in the 1400’s. At the time the thinking evolved that man was at the centre of God’s creation and, therefore, of unlimited potential, as opposed to the medieval thinking that man’s only purpose was to serve God. Artistic styles and techniques changed greatly during the Renaissance. Renaissance artists studied the writings of the ancient Greeks and Romans. According to the Greek and Roman philosophers, the circle was the perfect shape. Thus the complicated geometry of the Gothic era was abandoned in favour of a geometry of elegant proportions and classical detail. Patronage also changed during the Renaissance. A new class of wealthy and scholarly patron emerged who expected the artist to be a man of intellect as well as artistic ability. The Renaissance is said to have begun in Florence, a city that prided itself on its culture, with the flourishing of the arts and letters. Florentine people had a great sense of history and culture, studying Latin and Greek texts.
Donatello was born in Florence in 1386. He was the son of a wool carder. Very little is known about his personality or his early career. It is believed that he learned stone carving from the sculptors working on the cathedral in Florence. Some time between 1404 and 1407 he was apprenticed to Lorenzo Ghiberti, a sculptor in bronze. He was influenced by the emotional intensity of Giotto’s painting. He demanded a measure of artistic freedom when working on pieces and as a result patrons found him difficult to work with. He wasn’t a cultural intellectual but he had an exceptional knowledge of ancient sculpture, which was the inspiration for his work. He influenced a number of artists including Michelangelo, Bernini and Rodin.
Donatello’s main patron was the wealthy Catholic Church. As a result, most of his work has a religious theme e.g. ‘St. George’ and ‘The Feast of Herod’. He was also patronised by the Medici family. It is believed that his famous statue ‘David’, a nude, free-standing figure of David with a large sword and hat, standing on Goliath’s helmeted head, was commissioned for them, as the first written record of the statue is at the wedding of Lorenzo the Magnificent in 1469 when the statue was positioned in the courtyard of the Medici palace. Donatello also took the unprecedented step of accepting a commission for an equestrian sculpture of the Venetian Condottiere Erasmo da Narmi, a sculpture that was nicknamed ‘The Honeyed Cat’. This was scandalous at the time as it was observed that only rulers were portrayed in equestrian statues. This controversy spread the fame both of the statue and of Donatello himself.
Donatello was influenced by the emotional intensity of Giotto’s paintings. As a result his own work depicts deep emotion e.g. pain and suffering in ‘Mary Magdalene’. He was a master sculptor in several different media and used these to create different atmospheres e.g. marble used in ‘St. George’, a sculpture that originally stood in the church of Orsanmichele, evokes strength and wealth. Donatello was the first sculptor since Roman times to represent a nude figure in ‘David’. The classical ‘S’ shape is similar to Greek poses. It was also the first freestanding since antiquity. It is obvious form Donatello’s sculptures that he used live models. Because of this his sculptures contrast greatly with the rows of serene but unreal figures previously sculpted. Donatello also displayed a mastery in handling large numbers of figures, which would become a feature of the High Renaissance. Donatello invented his own type of relief in his marble panel ‘St. George Killing the Dragon’, a panel at the bas of the statue of St. George, known as “schiacciato”. Unlike Ghiberti’s panels, the schiacciato panel depends on visual rather than tactile perceptions. It seems like painting with a chisel.
Donatello’s early works such as ‘St. John the Evangelist’ were still mainly Gothic in style. His sculpture ‘ David’ was influenced by Ghiberti, his teacher, with its graceful, International Gothic lines. ‘St. George’ was a contrast to medieval sculpture in which the human personality is shown with a confidence in its own worth. During the 1420s Donatello entered into a limited partnership with the sculptor and architect Michelozzo. In the partnership Donatello sculpted a bronze effigy of Pope John ⅩⅩⅢ while Michelozzo was responsible for the architectural framework and decorative sculpture. The style of this work done during this partnership was reminiscent of that of Brunelleschi. Although Donatello showed a command of scientific linear perspective only a few years after Brunelleschi had invented it, his work done alone contrasts with Brunelleschi’s and tends to have an unusual mixture of classical and medieval influences.
One of Donatello’s principle works is the statue of Mary Magdalene that was created between 1450 and 1455. It is worked in wood to convey a mood of poverty and desolation. At the time in Florence a generation of sculptors had emerged that excelled in the sensuous treatment of marble surfaces. Thus Donatello’s wooden figure must have been a shock. It was also coloured. Traces of blue eyes and yellow streaked hair re still visible. At this time most Florentine art tended to be authoritative and colourless.
The line in this sculpture is very hard and jagged. This creates the haggard image of the figure. In her youth Mary Magdalene was very beautiful but tears of fasting have worn into her face and body. Her clothes are jaggedly sculpted rags. This along with the medium creates a rough uneven texture in the sculpture. It is a new insight into psychological reality. Donatello’s formerly powerful bodies have become withered and spidery, overwhelmed by emotional tensions within. At the time Donatello was suffering from illness and had almost died.
This sculpture was produced to portray repentance and suffering. At the time it was made the monk Savonarola was preaching repentance in Florence. This was the source of Donatello’s inspiration. The sculpture was placed in the baptistery of the Florence Cathedral. The figure’s pained expression and pitiful appearance as well as her stance of humility with her hands clasped in prayer and one knee bent, makes her a symbol of remorse, suffering and pain.
Donatello’s statues are extremely life-like and achieve their intended purpose. The techniques and skills used as well as the uniqueness of his work at the time make his sculptures some of the most important pieces of the early Renaissance.
