Donatello
Born – Florence, Italy c.1386
Died – Florence, Italy 1466
Donatello was the greatest Florentine sculptor before Michelangelo, and the most influential artist of the fifteenth century. Along with Masaccio and his friend Brunellechi je was the leading figure of a new humanist movement which relocated man to the centre of the Universe, with this came a dramatic shift in how objects and people could be represented. These artists made sense of a rapidly changing world through their own observations and styles, galvanised by an increasing knowledge of ancient Rome and Greece. From 1416 he worked on this sculpture of St George, commissioned by the Gould of Armourers whose patron saint it represents. It was destined for a space on the outside of the church of Or San Michele in Florence. Donatello portrays St George as a heroic, lifelike figure, calm yet alert, watching wanly for approaching danger. More significant is the relief below of St George killing the dragon, this is the earliest known example of the new science of perspective being used to create a believable space for the figures to inhabit.
Masterpieces:
- Herod’s Feast
- Magdalen
Text: The A-Z of Art, Nicola Hodge and Libby Anson.