Donatello is known for his ability to sculpt images to life. Many of his best known works are images or people synonymous with religious attributes from the Bible. His ability to work in different mediums has brought him through the ages to be known as one of the greatest Renaissance Era sculptors. His chosen subjects to sculpt are clarified when you begin to dig into his beginnings as an artist and the source of his motivation. Some well-known works of art I intend to explore by investigating the methods and possible hidden meaning are the Feast of Herod, David, and Judith and Holofernes.
Donatello was born Donato di Niccolo di Betto Bardi in Florence, Italy in 1386. He was soon called Donatello as a nickname by his family and friends. His …show more content…
With all the praise Dixon gives to this sculpture and his use of linear perspective, he does speak about the architecture that Donatello shows in the Feast of Herod. The architecture in the relief, according to Dixon, “makes very little sense” and “there is no way to draw an intelligible floor plan of it” (172). Dixon refers to “strange beams with no discernable function” and “a stairway that is far too small to be used by any human being” (172). Dixon does continue to say that it is “sufficiently “real” to give the appearance of a real building” (172). To show depth on a flat relief is a difficult task. Donatello did use other media in his art including marble, like his first sculpture of …show more content…
McHam eludes to how this sculpture may have represented the Medici family as the defenders of the republic when the public, to the contrary, saw the Medici family as “tyrants who sucked all real power out of the city’s republican institutions” (McHam, 32). According to McHam, this sculpture could have been commissioned by the Medici but, there is not enough evidence to prove this (34). Since the two sculptures were displayed together, I must now speak about Judith and Holofernes in order to continue the
Donatello was born Donato di Niccolo di Betto Bardi in Florence, Italy in 1386. He was soon called Donatello as a nickname by his family and friends. His …show more content…
With all the praise Dixon gives to this sculpture and his use of linear perspective, he does speak about the architecture that Donatello shows in the Feast of Herod. The architecture in the relief, according to Dixon, “makes very little sense” and “there is no way to draw an intelligible floor plan of it” (172). Dixon refers to “strange beams with no discernable function” and “a stairway that is far too small to be used by any human being” (172). Dixon does continue to say that it is “sufficiently “real” to give the appearance of a real building” (172). To show depth on a flat relief is a difficult task. Donatello did use other media in his art including marble, like his first sculpture of …show more content…
McHam eludes to how this sculpture may have represented the Medici family as the defenders of the republic when the public, to the contrary, saw the Medici family as “tyrants who sucked all real power out of the city’s republican institutions” (McHam, 32). According to McHam, this sculpture could have been commissioned by the Medici but, there is not enough evidence to prove this (34). Since the two sculptures were displayed together, I must now speak about Judith and Holofernes in order to continue the