Donatello Research Paper

In time of the Renaissance, there were many great artists that did amazing paintings. Donatello was different; he did sculpting and made some of the world’s most beautiful sculptures. His early years were when he got all his training and learned the true art of sculpting. At his mid-point of his life, Donatello made most of his famous sculptures at this time. His final days were spent still making sculptures until he passed away. When you combine all the information of his early, middle and late years, you have a spectacular story of Donatello. Donatello was born in 1386 in Florence and passed away in 1466 in his hometown. His father was Niccolò di Betto Bardi who was a Florentine Woolcomber. Donatello’s training began when he was an apprentice …show more content…
He continued to be highly involved with relief carvings over the next fifteen years, finishing commissions for cathedrals in places such as Siena, Florence, and Rome. Probably the most famous of these is the Singing Gallery which is located in the Florence Cathedral (1433-1439), and the Old Sacristy, commissioned for San Lorenzo Church and mausoleum by the Medici family (1433-1443). Between 1415 and the mid-1430s, Donatello also worked on a series of life-size statues of the prophets. Every sculpture is treated as an individual, although based on classical models. The interest in individualizing statues of religious figures carried over onto into Donatello’s interest in Roman busts. By reviving this ancient art, in a portrait bust of his contemporary Niccolo da Uzzano, Donatello again embodied the spirit of the Renaissance. Portrait busts remained uncommon at the time, but sculpted portraits were common on tombs. Donatello’s innovative combo of the effigy of Baldassare Coscia with scenes from the scriptures on his tomb inspired many of the tombs that time. (Encyclopedia of