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Donatello(around 1386-1466). The real name of the sculptor is Donato di Niccolo di Betto Bardi, but he is better known by his diminutive name.From the time ofGiovanni Pisano Italian sculpture has never known a master of such caliber, inner strength and such plastic power and richness of artistic language.The harmony of Donatello's statues is of a different order than that of his contemporaries -Lorenzo Ghiberti and Nanni di Banco - if Gothic influences are still noticeable in Donatello’s early works, then later the sculptor came to create new classical forms, combining the ancient and the modern.
Donatello was born in or near Florence between 1382 and 1387, most likely in 1386. He came from a fairly wealthy family. Donatello's father, a scion of the old Bardi family, was an artisan - a wool carder, but lost his fortune and died quite early. From his youth, the sculptor had to earn his own living. After the death of his father, Donatello lived with his mother in a small, modest house. Donato did not attend school as a child and understood Latin rather poorly.The name Donatello was first mentioned in documents in 1401 - at that time he worked as a jeweler in Pistoia - presumably, Donatello first studied in a jewelry workshop, but it is unknown whose student he was, as well as in the workshop of the painter and sculptor Bicci di Lorenzo, using the patronage of a wealthy Florentine banker Martelli. In 1403, the name Donatello is already found in Ghiberti’s workshop, where he worked until 1407, helping to make relief models for the second doors of the Florentine Baptistery. On November 25, 1406, Donatello's name is mentioned in documents related to the construction of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. In 1407, Donatello left Ghiberti and began work in the workshops leading to the decoration of the Florence Cathedral.Already around 1414, Donatello decisively broke with the traditions of Ghiberti’s workshop and took the path of independent development. Donatello radically changed his artistic method, abandoning the Gothic traditions of his teacher, and practically became the founder of a new type of sculpture. This should have been greatly facilitated by the proximity to Brunelleschi, whom Donatello could have met no later than 1403, when he was working on the statue of David for the buttress of the Florence Cathedral. Brunelleschi was probably the first to introduce Donatello to new humanistic ideas and to the all"antica way of working, which was then becoming fashionable.

Very little is known about Donatello as a person. Not a single letter of his, not a single direct statement of his, has survived. Everything that is known about him goes back to later sources, and not always reliable. There is only a small amount of old information - for example, his friend Matteo degli Organi testifies in 1434 that Donatello was “a man who was content with any modest food and was generally unpretentious.” Giovanni Medici wrote that Donatello had no other position than that given to him by his own hands. When Cosimo de' Medici gave Donatello a beautiful dress, the sculptor wore it once or twice and did not wear it again, so as not to “seem like a sissy” (Vespasiano da Bisticci ).
In the light of this evidence from contemporaries, Vasari’s story, which already appears in the treatise, does not look so implausiblePomponio Gaurico "On Sculpture" (1504). “He was an extremely generous, kind man and treated his friends better than himself; “he never attached any value to money and kept it in a basket suspended by a rope from the ceiling, from which each of his students and friends could draw as needed, without telling him anything about it.”
His personality aroused the respect of the Florentines, as eloquently evidenced by the plot of the street performance, in which a messenger arrived at Donatello with an invitation to the court of the “King of Nineveh” himself to carry out important orders, to which Donatello refused, since he had to finish the statue for the Florentine market and I couldn't do anything else. The testimony of Ludovico Gonzaga, who unsuccessfully tried to persuade the master to move to Mantua, has been preserved: “His brains are structured in such a way that if he does not want to come, then all hopes must be abandoned.”
Donatello's character was difficult; he often delayed the completion of orders, often refused to fulfill his obligations when he did not like them, and did not attach much importance to the social status of the customer. Such freedom of behavior was possible in Republican Florence, but already in the 16th century it was rather an exception, since artists became dependent on the Medici court.
Just as little is known about Donatello the man about his creative practice. Not a single drawing of him or a single model of his has reached our time. Meanwhile, Vasari had his drawings in his collection, and Pomponio Gaurico reports that Donatello claimed that the basis of the sculpture was a drawing - at this stage a motif is fixed, which is further refined in a small model made of clay or wax. Such models, according to evidencePaolo Giovio, Donatello reworked it several times until he found the right solution. Unfortunately, not a single such model has survived.
The master made the statues mainly himself, entrusting only minor details to his students; in carrying out large monumental orders, he widely used the labor of assistants; he usually entrusted the casting of bronze statues and reliefs to qualified bell makers, although he himself was well acquainted with the technique of bronze casting. Donatello carried out the finishing of the surface of the bronze statues and reliefs himself - without excessive care, smoothness, leaving them with a kind of “unfinishedness”, moving away from jewelry traditions, taking into account both the distance from which the statue will be viewed and the impression that this statue will produce, installed on the intended her place. According to Vasari, Donatello “worked as much with his hands as with his calculations,” in contrast to the masters, whose “works are finished and seem beautiful in the room in which they are made, but are then taken out from there and placed in another place, in another lighting or at a higher altitude take on a completely different appearance and produce an impression exactly the opposite of what they produced in their previous place.”In contrast to the classical direction of Florentine plastic art, in which many of his contemporaries worked, Donatello’s creations are made with realism and liveliness, with greater freedom and courage. Donatello solved the problems of new realistic art by means of statuary plasticity and relief. The statue is the central problem of his early work. Somewhat later (c. 1420), Donatello began to develop the problem of a perspectively constructed, multifaceted relief, which subsequently occupied him all his life. The work of this master develops along these two lines.

And one more important eternal problem- the relationship between Donatello and antiquity and the role of antiquity in his work. People of the Renaissance were inclined to view Donatello as a “great imitator of the ancients” - something like the omnipresent Vasari looked at things. Donatello’s works, in his opinion, “were considered more similar to the outstanding creations of the ancient Greeks and Romans than anything that was ever done by anyone.” This connection between Donatello and the ancient heritage was strongly emphasized in the literature of the 19th century, until M. Raymond andV. Bodedid not focus attention on the fundamental dissimilarity between Donatello and the ancient masters. Recognizing that Donatello persistently sought out antique samples and, as far as possible, carefully used them, Bode at the same time noted: “... it is unlikely that anyone else, in his entire perception, was as far from antiquity as he was.”

Indeed, Donatello handled the ancient heritage so arbitrarily and was able to so successfully subordinate ancient borrowings to his own plans that they were completely dissolved in them. In his eyes, the antique motif was almost synonymous with the realistic motif - he looked for it especially persistently when he was faced with the task of depicting a figure in motion orcontrapposto. The ideal forms of the ancient classics touched him little. But everything that had expression in ancient art, such as, for example,roman portraitI-III centuries AD e. Roman historical relief (Trajan's Column), Roman provincial sarcophagi, Roman architectural ornament, interested him keenly, and he was not afraid to draw individual motifs from these sources. But what is noteworthy is that to this day not a single ancient monument is known that Donatello would have accurately copied. There are no direct borrowings from ancient sources in his early works, which open a new era. There is not a single statue (except for the so-calledAtisa Amorino)
and not a single relief on an ancient theme, which gained such great importance among sculptors in the second half of the 15th and 16th centuries. Christian themes completely predominate, in which ancient echoes are not heard so often (in the later period they almost completely disappear).

Atis,1430Donatello. Bronze. National Bargello Museum.

The first period of creativity can be considered the years before 1433, when Donatello worked mainly on decorating the Cathedral and the Church of Orsanmichele in Florence.
The first indisputable work of Donatello that has come down to us is his"David"- now in the Bargello Museum. This statue was made forbuttressFlorence Cathedral in 1408-1409, but then, probably due to its insufficient size for such a remote location, it was transferred by order of the Signoria in 1416 to the Palazzo Vecchio, where the statue was completed by the master. Then the scroll in David’s hands was replaced with a sling, which received an inscription calling for civic exploits: “To those who bravely fight for their homeland, the gods grant help even against the most terrible opponents.” The statue was placed near the wall of the Palazzo Vecchio and served as a symbol of the independence of Florence.

David.1409Donatello. Marble. National Bargello Museum, Florence.

David's head is decorated with a wreath of leavesamaranth- the ancient emblem of the unfading glory of the brave. This detail was undoubtedly suggested to Donatello by some expert in ancient literature, most likely his friendNiccolo Niccoli- this is how the statues of Achilles, Jason, and Hercules were decorated. Otherwise, the statue is still largely connected with the traditions of medieval Gothic art - the Gothic curve of the figure, graceful limbs, a thin, pretty face devoid of character, somewhat reminiscent of the type of ancient Bacchus. But in the rich plastic life of the body with the extensive use of contrapposto (the right shoulder and leg pushed forward, the head turned in the opposite direction, the left leg set back), one can already feel the master’s desire to freely deploy the figure in space. The motif of the bare left leg, effectively framed by the flowing folds of draperies, is very successful and new.Traditionally, David was depicted as a wise king of advanced years - with a scroll of laws in his hands, or a psalmist - with a lyre. The image of the young David the victor was associated with the memory of the deliverance of Florence from the Milanese threat and the victorious war with the Neapolitan king. In Donatello's interpretation, David is shown as a young warrior celebrating his victory over the giant Goliath. This statue is the first in Donatello's oeuvre of a series of statues with heroic themes.

In 1408-1415 for the facade cathedral in Florence, various sculptors created statues of the four Evangelists -John the Theologian, patron of the woolen workshop, the work of Donatello, St. Luke - the work of Nanni di Banco, St. Mark - Nicolo Lamberti, St. Matthew - Ciuffagni (1410-1415), now they are in the Cathedral Museum in Florence. When the construction commission distributed orders for these statues in 1408, the young Donatello received a block of Carrara marble, tall and wide, but of small depth - not exceeding half a meter - sufficient for Gothic sculpture, but clearly small for a more realistic depiction of a seated man, and therefore the sculpture , in essence, representshigh relief. Donatello solved the problem by choosing a position for the figure with an oblique turn of the legs, opposite to the turn of the head, at the same time introducing hidden tension in the passively sitting figure. The sitting apostle is a strong, powerful old man, with powerful hands, full of restrained dignity and nobility. A massive head, a courageous, strong face, framed by large, seemingly flowing strands of hair and beard, a piercing gaze, heavy hands accustomed to work give John impressiveness and power, reminiscent of Michelangelo’s “Moses,” who was called “the son of this father,” such The image of the seated “John” Donatello is considered the inspiration and brilliant predecessor of the Renaissance masterpiece.
In this statue of his, Donatello takes a decisive step forward. Strictly speaking, this is the first truly Renaissance statue in which a new idea of man found expression. Starting with this piece, Donatello enters a new period of his creativity and creates masterpieces that open a new era in art.
In the Trecento era, sculptures were disembodied images, but here Donatello gives John a realistic, earthly character.

John the Evangelist. 1410-11Donatello. Marble. Cathedral Museum, Florence.

At an early stage of his creativity, Donatello tried himself in different directions. Probably around 1412-1413 (or 1415-1425) he carved woodCrucifixion, now kept in the Florentine church of Santa Croce.
It shows similarities with a relief of a similar theme by his teacher Ghiberti on the second doors of the Florentine Baptistery. Christ is depicted with a strong muscular body, but his face is not expressive enough for Donatello. Researchers have still not come to a consensus about the authorship of Donatello and the time of creation of the wooden “Crucifixion,” although most are inclined to believe that it contains features characteristic of early Donatello.
This work by Donatello is mentioned twice in 16th-century sources, and Vasari also cites an anecdote (by the way, not particularly reliable) - that the sculptor showed the work to his close friend Filippo Brunelleschi immediately after completion, but he gave a mediocre assessment of the wooden “Crucifixion”, its too plausible appearance : "Peasant on the cross."

Crucifixion. 1412-13Donatello. Tree. Church of Santa Croce, Florence.

In 1412 Donatello was accepted into the guildSt. Luke's- the guild of painters, as a painter, sculptor and goldsmith. In the early period of his life, Donatello carried out almost exclusively public orders (for communes, workshops, churches) - he created statues for squares and facades - for wide viewing, which fully corresponded to the demands of “civic humanism”. Later, Donatello carried out private commissions. His fame grew quickly and everything that came out of his hands invariably surprised his contemporaries - including the peculiar spirit of rebellion.
In 1411-1412 Donatello performedstatue of Saint Mark for a niche on the south side of the building of the Church of Orsanmichele, which still adorns the niche intended for it. According to documentary evidence, it was created by the master almost simultaneously with the statue of the seated John the Evangelist (1408-1415), but artistically it is significantly superior to the statue for the Duomo.The statue of Mark was commissioned by the elders of the flax spinning workshop, perhaps that is why Donatello so carefully worked out the draperies of the clothes, depicting them in a variety of shapes, and also placed the statue of the Evangelist on a flat pillow. Despite the fact that the statue is located in a niche, it immediately attracted the attention of contemporaries; Donatello expressed the individual character of the character with great skill.

Mark's figure is unusually proportional, stable and monumental; perhaps for the first time since the ancient masters, the problem of stable positioning of the figure was solved. The entire weight of the slightly curved body rests on the right leg, the left leg, slightly bent at the knee, is slightly set back, left hand holding a book, at the same time holds the cloak, which lies in loose folds, outlining the relief of the leg; the entire long ancient robe is completely subordinate to the figure, emphasizing his position - calm, full of dignity. Everything in this figure is weighty and material - the heaviness of the body, the muscular arms, and the plasticity of the fabric of the clothes. Michelangelo said of the statue of Mark that he “never saw a statue so like a decent man; if that was what St. Mark, you can also believe his writings.”

Evangelist Mark. 1411Donatello. Marble. Church of Orsanmichele, Florence.

For the Church of Orsanmichele, commissioned by the Guelph party, Donatello created a gilded bronze statueSaint Louis , now kept in the museum at the Church of Santa Croce, Florence.Saint Louis of Toulouse, descended from the Anjou family, renounced the Neapolitan crown, taking monastic vows in the Franciscan monastic order, was consecrated archbishop of Toulouse in 1297, and died at the age of 23.
The entire figure of the saint is wrapped in a wide cloak over a simple Franciscan cassock; from under the robe only the hands and toes, shod in sandals, are visible. With his right hand the saint blesses, and with his left he presses his staff to himself - also a unique creation of the sculptor for its time. The pommel of the staff is decorated with figures of antique putti - naked boys placed between Corinthian pilasters. Louis's head is crowned with a heavy archbishop's miter.
In 1460, the Guelph party resold the outer niche of the Orsanmichele church to a guild of merchants, not wanting to see the statue of their patron saint surrounded by the holy patrons of the craft guilds. The statue of Saint Louis was moved to the Santa Croce Museum, where it remains today. The statue was badly damaged during a flood in 1966.
Starting with the statue of Saint Louis, realistic tendencies intensified in Donatello’s work, reaching another peak in the statues of the prophets of the Florentine campanile.

Saint Louis of Toulouse. 1413Donatello. Bronze. Museum of the Church of Santa Croce, Florence.

A kind of apogee of the creative quest of the young Donatello is his statue of St. George, commissioned by the gunsmith shop for Orsanmichele (now kept in the Bargello). In "Georgia" Donatello most fully embodied the new civic ideal. The hero stands unshakably, like a rock - there is no force in the world that can move him from his place, he is ready to repel any onslaught. Vasari gave the following description of this statue: “... its head expresses the beauty of youth, courage and valor in weapons, a proud and formidable impulse, and in everything an amazing movement that animates the stone from the inside. And, of course, in no sculpture can one find so much life, in no marble so much spirituality as nature and art put into this work by the hands of Donato.” At one time, George had a helmet on his head, in his right hand he held a sword or a spear, and in his left hand, leaning on a shield with the emblem of Florence, he pressed the scabbard to his chest. These attributes were undoubtedly suggested to the master by the foremen of the gunsmith shop, who wanted to see their patron endowed with everything that they themselves made. Probably, in its present form, when its plastic qualities stand out in greater relief, the statue has only benefited.It may seem that Donatello portrayed George in a strict frontal pose, but this impression is deceptive. In fact, the figure is full of movement, but restrained. Donatello very subtly uses contrapposto to bring the figure to life. Right shoulder and right hand slightly set back, the head is slightly turned in the opposite direction, the left shoulder is extended, the body is given a kind of rotational movement, the right leg, unlike the left, does not extend beyond the plinth, but is moved somewhat deeper from it. Such an interpretation deprives the figure of any static quality, which Vasari already noticed. Donatello processes the front side of the statue in such a way (and it is designed to be viewed from a frontal point of view) that it is perceived as a kind of relief. Not a single part (including the obliquely placed shield) protrudes from the plane, the arms are pressed to the body, the cloak tied in a knot tightly covers the body. This leads to an easy visibility of the statue, which can be easily taken in at a glance, which is greatly facilitated by the clear, carefully thought-out composition of the figure. The statue of George very uniquely combines the closedness of the marble block, the selected relief of the front aspect and the richness of movement. This is what makes the statue such a unique work of art. Here Donatello created one of the happiest and most cheerful images of Renaissance art, close in its general spirit to what Alberti later clearly formulated: “the serenity and tranquility of a joyful soul, free and content with itself.”
Although the statue of George stands in a previously made Gothic niche, it does not conflict with it, since the vertical lines are very strongly expressed in the statue ( straight position the entire figure, crosshairs of the shield, neck, nose). Despite this, the viewer still clearly feels that the statue is cramped in the niche space allotted to it, that its inherent excess of energy needs a more extensive field of action.

Donatello - Italian sculptor, who created and created during the Renaissance. Works of art belonging to him have survived to this day. Today you can see them in many European museums.

Biography of the sculptor Donatello

A lot happened in the life of this great man. His work attracted many people. It is impossible to speak briefly about the biography of the sculptor Donatello. His whole life was filled with bright events that greatly influenced this famous personality.

Donatello was born in Florence. The exact day the sculptor was born is unknown. Historians claim that his date of birth fell in 1386.

The family of the sculptor Donatello was no different from other working families. The master's father was a simple wool carder, which is how he made his living. He never understood his son's passion and love for art. Therefore, I believed that it was almost impossible to earn a living in this way. Repeatedly, his father tried to drag Donatello into the ranks of ordinary workers. However, the sculptor resisted and followed his dream.

Even in his early years, the boy had the opportunity to study in a workshop. The first mentor of the very young sculptor Donatello was Bicci di Lorenzo, who at that time was the owner of this small place where beauty was created. The entire workshop was sponsored by one of the richest nobles of Florence.

To receive a complete art education, Donatello had to go to Rome, where the most famous “slaves of art” then lived and developed. On this educational trip, the young man was accompanied by his friend, the no less famous architect Brunelleschi, who later became famous for his magical and extraordinary works. Lorenzo Ghiberti became a teacher for young talented people. It was he who managed to lay the foundations of beauty in these guys, who later remained in people’s memory.

If we talk about the personal life of the sculptor Donatello, then practically nothing is known about it. Many historians claim that such a talented man did not have a lover, because he devoted his entire life to art. Without betraying his life's work, Donatello never left any descendants.

Art styles

The sculptor Donatello created in two styles that were unique to him. The first works were distinguished by their excessive realism. Later works already looked much nicer. Two absolutely different styles, which the master chose for his work, became the main ones. It is thanks to them that today we know who this outstanding man was.

One of the works of the sculptor Donatello, belonging to the early stage of creativity, was a statue. She portrayed a thin and long-haired woman. This is exactly how the master introduced Saint Magdalene to the world. Today this sculpture is located in the Baptistery in Florence.

The work that became representative of the second direction or style is the sculpture of St. George. It was made of marble stone. Now this statue is located on the territory of Florence.

New job

In 1444, Donatello was offered an excellent job in Padua. The sculptor needed only one thing - to show his skills and cast a bronze statue. This work was supposed to depict the condottiere Gattamelata. The work was a great success. This majestic sculpture can still be seen today. The location of the statue has not changed. For several centuries it has been located right in front of St. Anthony's Cathedral. The most interesting fact what remains is that this statue was the first that could be placed on a par with the monuments of the ancient Romans.

After successfully completing the task, Donatello was offered a job in the cathedral itself. To this the sculptor gave a positive answer. He needed to decorate the church altar of St. Anthony. I became a work colleague like this famous person as Niccolo Pizzolo.

It was the painstaking work in Padua that became decisive in Donatello’s career. In his entire life, he was not given a single more lucrative offer than the casting of a bronze sculpture and the unimaginably rich decoration of the altar.

Further work

The sculptor remained in Padua and did not return home. There he continued to devote himself entirely to art.

Until 1456, Donatello lived in the Venetian Republic, where he created many beautiful statues and monuments. The Cathedral of St. Anthony was decorated with the works of the sculptor, among which the bas-reliefs cast in bronze stood out. They depicted the life events of a patron named Padua.

Homecoming

In 1957, Donatello worked on creating a monument that depicted the image of St. John the Baptist in marble stone. Today this statue can be seen in the Bargello Museum.

The master no longer carried out the work in Padua, but in native land- in Florence. The sculpture of John can impress everyone today. She depicts a thin man with a blank look in which it is impossible to read any thoughts. His lips are slightly parted. As if in a few seconds he would say something unimaginable, prophetic. The statue is shown in motion. The holy prophet walks calmly, but because of his thinness, even an ordinary step already seems like an action to which a lot of effort has been applied.

Other branches of art

In addition to sculptures, Donatello was fond of creating busts. Everyone knows that a portrait bust is a separate art direction. Donatello succeeded in this industry as well. The works of Greek and Roman artists have already sunk into centuries. However, the sculptor managed to resurrect and make this art form popular again.

Busts

Even in Donatello's childhood works one can see how strongly the sculptor adhered to realism. At the same time, the busts did not seem creepy because they depicted people's faces exactly. The statues looked cute and nice.

Features of the works of the great master

The master’s art is also distinguished by the fact that only he himself determined the moment when the sculpture would be completed. Donatello foresaw in advance what impression his works would have on people who would see them in the near future. main feature the master's work was that he managed to embody inner world of a person and spiritual development in his facial features.

Work in Florence

The best and most interesting works of Donatello today are in the sculptor’s native land - in Florence. Bas-reliefs, medallions, various images of famous evangelists of that time in heavy thoughts - all this has survived to this day. The doors, on which were depicted the apostles, poured by the hands of Donatello, became the entrance to the great temples of the Renaissance.

The master always depicted all the bright episodes of the lives of the saints with his characteristic harshness and even some cruelty.

Death of Donatello

Until his very last days, the sculptor lived in Florence. The master worked until he was very old, without knowing the true feeling of fatigue.

Donatello died in 1466. His body was buried in San Lorenzo - one of the largest and oldest churches in Florence, which was decorated with the work of the master both outside and inside. During the funeral, a huge number of honors were paid to this truly talented man. His death was a big blow for those who knew the sculptor personally. As a sign of respect for the work of the sculptor Donatello, his works began to be especially protected, which helped preserve them to this day.

Donatello(circa 1386–1466). The real name of the sculptor is Donato di Niccolo di Betto Bardi, but he is better known by his diminutive name.

Since the times of Italian sculpture has not known a master of such caliber, inner strength and such plastic power and richness of artistic language.
The harmony of Donatello's statues is of a different order than that of his contemporaries - and Nanni di Banco - if Gothic influences are still noticeable in Donatello's early works, then later the sculptor came to create new classical forms, combining the ancient and the modern.

Donatello was born in or near Florence between 1382 and 1387, most likely in 1386. He came from a fairly wealthy family. Donatello's father, a scion of the old Bardi family, was an artisan - a wool carder, but lost his fortune and died quite early. From his youth, the sculptor had to earn his own living. After the death of his father, Donatello lived with his mother in a small, modest house. Donato did not attend school as a child and understood Latin rather poorly.

The name Donatello was first mentioned in documents in 1401 - at that time he worked as a jeweler in Pistoia - presumably, Donatello first studied in a jewelry workshop, but it is unknown whose student he was, as well as in the workshop of the painter and sculptor Bicci di Lorenzo, using the patronage of a wealthy Florentine banker Martelli. In 1403, the name Donatello is already found in Ghiberti’s workshop, where he worked until 1407, helping to make relief models for the second doors of the Florentine Baptistery. On November 25, 1406, Donatello's name is mentioned in documents related to the construction of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. In 1407, Donatello left Ghiberti and began work in the workshops leading to the decoration of the Florence Cathedral.
Already around 1414, Donatello decisively broke with the traditions of Ghiberti’s workshop and took the path of independent development. Donatello radically changed his artistic method, abandoning the Gothic traditions of his teacher, and practically became the founder of a new type of sculpture. This should have been greatly facilitated by the proximity to Brunelleschi, whom Donatello could have met no later than 1403, when he was working on the statue of David for the buttress of the Florence Cathedral. Brunelleschi was probably the first to introduce Donatello to new humanistic ideas and to the all"antica way of working, which was then becoming fashionable.

Just as little is known about Donatello the man about his creative practice. Not a single drawing of him or a single model of his has reached our time. Meanwhile, Vasari had his drawings in his collection, and Pomponio Gaurico reports that Donatello claimed that the basis of the sculpture was a drawing - at this stage a motif is fixed, which is further refined in a small model made of clay or wax. Such models, according to evidence Paolo Giovio*, Donatello reworked it several times until he found the right solution. Unfortunately, not a single such model has survived.
The master made the statues mainly himself, entrusting only minor details to his students; in carrying out large monumental orders, he widely used the labor of assistants; he usually entrusted the casting of bronze statues and reliefs to qualified bell makers, although he himself was well acquainted with the technique of bronze casting. Donatello carried out the finishing of the surface of the bronze statues and reliefs himself - without excessive care, smoothness, leaving them with a kind of “unfinishedness”, moving away from jewelry traditions, taking into account both the distance from which the statue will be viewed and the impression that this statue will produce, installed on the intended her place. According to Vasari, Donatello “worked as much with his hands as with his calculations,” in contrast to the masters, whose “works are finished and seem beautiful in the room in which they are made, but are then taken out from there and placed in another place, in another lighting or at a higher altitude take on a completely different appearance and produce an impression exactly the opposite of what they produced in their previous place.”
In contrast to the classical direction of Florentine plastic art, in which many of his contemporaries worked, Donatello’s creations are made with realism and liveliness, with greater freedom and courage. Donatello solved the problems of new realistic art by means of statuary plasticity and relief. The statue is the central problem of his early work. Somewhat later (c. 1420), Donatello began to develop the problem of a perspectively constructed, multifaceted relief, which subsequently occupied him all his life. The work of this master develops along these two lines.

And another important and eternal problem is the relationship between Donatello and antiquity and the role of antiquity in his work. People of the Renaissance were inclined to view Donatello as a “great imitator of the ancients” - something like the omnipresent Vasari looked at things. Donatello’s works, in his opinion, “were considered more similar to the outstanding creations of the ancient Greeks and Romans than anything that was ever done by anyone.” This connection between Donatello and the ancient heritage was strongly emphasized in the literature of the 19th century, until M. Raymond and V. Bode* did not focus on the fundamental dissimilarity between Donatello and the ancient masters. Recognizing that Donatello persistently sought out antique samples and, as far as possible, carefully used them, Bode at the same time noted: “... it is unlikely that anyone else, in his entire perception, was as far from antiquity as he was.”

Indeed, Donatello handled the ancient heritage so arbitrarily and was able to so successfully subordinate ancient borrowings to his own plans that they were completely dissolved in them. In his eyes, the antique motif was almost synonymous with the realistic motif - he looked for it especially persistently when he was faced with the task of depicting a figure in motion or contrapposto*. The ideal forms of the ancient classics touched him little. But everything that had expression in ancient art, such as, for example, roman portrait I-III centuries AD BC* Roman historical relief ( Trajan's Column*), Roman provincial sarcophagi, Roman architectural ornament, interested him keenly, and he was not afraid to draw individual motifs from these sources. But what is noteworthy is that to this day not a single ancient monument is known that Donatello would have copied exactly. There are no direct borrowings from ancient sources in his early works, which open a new era. There is not a single statue (except for the so-called Atisa Amorino)
and not a single relief on an ancient theme, which gained such great importance among sculptors in the second half of the 15th and 16th centuries. Christian themes completely predominate, in which ancient echoes are not heard so often (in the later period they almost completely disappear).

Allegorical figure of a boy (Hatis) 1430 Donatello. Bronze. National Bargello Museum.

The first indisputable work of Donatello that has come down to us is his "David"- now in the Bargello Museum. This statue was made for buttress* Florence Cathedral in 1408-1409, but then, probably due to its insufficient size for such a remote location, was transferred by order of the signoria in 1416 to the Palazzo Vecchio, where the statue was completed by the master. Then the scroll in David’s hands was replaced with a sling, which received an inscription calling for civic exploits: “To those who bravely fight for their homeland, the gods grant help even against the most terrible opponents.” The statue was placed near the wall of the Palazzo Vecchio and served as a symbol of the independence of Florence.

David. 1409 Donatello.

David's head is decorated with a wreath of leaves amaranth* - the ancient emblem of the unfading glory of the brave. This detail was undoubtedly suggested to Donatello by some expert in ancient literature, most likely his friend Niccolo Niccoli* - statues of Achilles, Jason, and Hercules were decorated in this way. Otherwise, the statue is still largely connected with the traditions of medieval Gothic art - the Gothic curve of the figure, graceful limbs, a thin, pretty face devoid of character, somewhat reminiscent of the type of ancient Bacchus. But in the rich plastic life of the body with the extensive use of contrapposto (the right shoulder and leg pushed forward, the head turned in the opposite direction, the left leg set back), one can already feel the master’s desire to freely deploy the figure in space. The motif of the bare left leg, effectively framed by the flowing folds of draperies, is very successful and new.
Traditionally, David was depicted as a wise king of advanced years - with a scroll of laws in his hands, or a psalmist - with a lyre. The image of the young David the victor was associated with the memory of the deliverance of Florence from the Milanese threat and the victorious war with the Neapolitan king. In Donatello's interpretation, David is shown as a young warrior celebrating his victory over the giant Goliath. This statue is the first in Donatello's oeuvre of a series of statues with heroic themes.

In the years 1408-1415, statues of the four Evangelists were created for the facade of the Cathedral in Florence by various sculptors - John the Theologian, patron of the woolen workshop, the work of Donatello, St. Luke - the work of Nanni di Banco, St. Mark - Nicolo Lamberti, St. Matthew - Ciuffagni (1410-1415), now they are in the Cathedral Museum in Florence. When the construction commission distributed orders for these statues in 1408, the young Donatello received a block of Carr marble, tall and wide, but of small depth - not exceeding half a meter - sufficient for Gothic sculpture, but clearly small for a more realistic depiction of a seated man, and therefore the sculpture , in essence, represents high relief*. Donatello solved the problem by choosing a position for the figure with an oblique turn of the legs, opposite to the turn of the head, at the same time introducing hidden tension in the passively sitting figure. The sitting apostle is a strong, powerful old man, with powerful hands, full of restrained dignity and nobility. A massive head, a courageous, strong face, framed by large, seemingly flowing strands of hair and beard, a piercing gaze, heavy hands accustomed to work give John impressiveness and power, reminiscent of Michelangelo’s “Moses,” who was called “the son of this father,” such The image of the seated “John” Donatello is considered the inspiration and brilliant predecessor of the Renaissance masterpiece.
In this statue of his, Donatello takes a decisive step forward. Strictly speaking, this is the first truly Renaissance statue in which a new idea of man found expression. Starting with this piece, Donatello enters a new period of his creativity and creates masterpieces that open a new era in art.
In the Trecento era, sculptures were disembodied images, but here Donatello gives John a realistic, earthly character.

John the Evangelist. 1410-11 Donatello.

At an early stage of his creativity, Donatello tried himself in different directions. Probably around 1412-1413 (or 1415-1425) he carved wood Crucifixion, now kept in the Florentine church of Santa Croce.
It shows similarities with a relief of a similar theme by his teacher Ghiberti on the second doors of the Florentine Baptistery. Christ is depicted with a strong muscular body, but his face is not expressive enough for Donatello. Researchers have still not come to a consensus about the authorship of Donatello and the time of creation of the wooden “Crucifixion,” although most are inclined to believe that it contains features characteristic of early Donatello.
This work by Donatello is mentioned twice in 16th-century sources, and Vasari also cites an anecdote (by the way, not particularly reliable) - that the sculptor showed the work to his close friend Filippo Brunelleschi immediately after completion, but he gave a mediocre assessment of the wooden “Crucifixion”, its too plausible appearance : "Peasant on the cross."

Crucifixion. 1412-13 Donatello. Tree. Church of Santa Croce, Florence.

In 1412 Donatello was accepted into the guild St. Luke's* - guild of painters, as a painter, sculptor and goldsmith. In the early period of his life, Donatello carried out almost exclusively public orders (for communes, workshops, churches) - he created statues for squares and facades - for wide viewing, which fully corresponded to the demands of “civic humanism”. Later, Donatello carried out private commissions. His fame grew quickly and everything that came out of his hands invariably surprised his contemporaries - including the peculiar spirit of rebellion.

In 1411-1412 Donatello performed statue of Saint Mark for a niche on the south side of the building of the Church of Orsanmichele, which still adorns the niche intended for it. According to documentary evidence, it was created by the master almost simultaneously with the statue of the seated John the Evangelist (1408-1415), but artistically it is significantly superior to the statue for the Duomo.
The statue of Mark was commissioned by the foremen of the flax spinning workshop, perhaps that is why Donatello so carefully worked out the draperies of the clothes, depicting them in a variety of shapes, and also erected the statue of the Evangelist on a flat pillow. Despite the fact that the statue is located in a niche, it immediately attracted the attention of contemporaries; Donatello expressed the individual character of the character with great skill.

Mark's figure is unusually proportional, stable and monumental; perhaps for the first time since the ancient masters, the problem of stable positioning of the figure was solved. The entire weight of the slightly curved body rests on the right leg, the left leg, slightly bent at the knee, is slightly set back, the left hand, holding a book, simultaneously holds the cloak, which lies in loose folds, outlining the relief of the leg, the entire long ancient robe is completely subordinated to the figure, emphasizing his position is calm, full of dignity. Everything in this figure is weighty and material - the heaviness of the body, the muscular arms, and the plasticity of the fabric of the clothes. Michelangelo said of the statue of Mark that he “never saw a statue so like a decent man; if that was what St. Mark, you can also believe his writings.”

Evangelist Mark. 1411 Donatello. Marble. Church of Orsanmichele, Florence.

For the Church of Orsanmichele, by order of the Guelph party, Donatello created a gilded bronze statue, now kept in the museum at the Church of Santa Croce, Florence.
Saint Louis of Toulouse, descended from the Anjou family, renounced the Neapolitan crown, taking monastic vows in the Franciscan monastic order, was consecrated archbishop of Toulouse in 1297, and died at the age of 23.
The entire figure of the saint is wrapped in a wide cloak over a simple Franciscan cassock; from under the robe only the hands and toes, shod in sandals, are visible. With his right hand the saint blesses, and with his left he presses his staff to himself - also a unique creation of the sculptor for its time. The pommel of the staff is decorated with figures of antique putti - naked boys placed between Corinthian pilasters. Louis's head is crowned with a heavy archbishop's miter.

In 1460, the Guelph party resold the outer niche of the Orsanmichele church to a guild of merchants, not wanting to see the statue of their patron saint surrounded by the holy patrons of the craft guilds. The statue of Saint Louis was moved to the Santa Croce Museum, where it remains today. The statue was badly damaged during a flood in 1966.

Starting with the statue of Saint Louis, realistic tendencies intensified in Donatello’s work, reaching another peak in the statues of the prophets of the Florentine Campanile.

Saint Louis of Toulouse. 1413 Donatello. Bronze. Museum of the Church of Santa Croce, Florence.

A kind of apogee of the creative quest of the young Donatello is his statue of St. George, commissioned by the gunsmith shop for Orsanmichele (now kept in the Bargello). In "Georgia" Donatello most fully embodied the new civic ideal. The hero stands unshakably, like a rock - there is no force in the world that can move him from his place, he is ready to repel any onslaught. Vasari gave the following description of this statue: “... its head expresses the beauty of youth, courage and valor in weapons, a proud and formidable impulse, and in everything an amazing movement that animates the stone from the inside. And, of course, in no one sculpture can one find so much life, in no one marble - so much spirituality as nature and art put into this work by the hands of Donato.” At one time, George had a helmet on his head, in his right hand he held a sword or a spear, and in his left hand, leaning on a shield with the emblem of Florence, he pressed the scabbard to his chest. These attributes were undoubtedly suggested to the master by the foremen of the gunsmith shop, who wanted to see their patron endowed with everything that they themselves made. Probably, in its present form, when its plastic qualities stand out in greater relief, the statue has only benefited.

It may seem that Donatello portrayed George in a strict frontal pose, but this impression is deceptive. In fact, the figure is full of movement, but restrained. Donatello very subtly uses contrapposto to bring the figure to life. The right shoulder and right arm are slightly set back, the head is slightly turned in the opposite direction, the left shoulder is extended, the body is given a kind of rotational movement, the right leg, unlike the left, does not extend beyond the plinth, but is moved somewhat deeper from it. Such an interpretation deprives the figure of any static quality, which Vasari already noticed. Donatello processes the front side of the statue in such a way (and it is designed to be viewed from a frontal point of view) that it is perceived as a kind of relief. Not a single part (including the obliquely placed shield) protrudes from the plane, the arms are pressed to the body, the cloak tied in a knot tightly covers the body. This leads to an easy visibility of the statue, which can be easily taken in at a glance, which is greatly facilitated by the clear, carefully thought-out composition of the figure. The statue of George very uniquely combines the closedness of the marble block, the selected relief of the front aspect and the richness of movement. This is what makes the statue such a unique work of art. Here Donatello created one of the happiest and most cheerful images of Renaissance art, close in its general spirit to what Alberti later clearly formulated: “the serenity and tranquility of a joyful soul, free and content with itself.”

Although the statue of George stands in a previously made Gothic niche, it does not conflict with it, since the vertical lines are very strongly expressed in the statue (the straight position of the entire figure, the crosshairs of the shield, the neck, the nose). Despite this, the viewer still clearly feels that the statue is cramped in the niche space allotted to it, that its inherent excess of energy needs a more extensive field of action.

Saint George. 1416 Donatello. Marble. National Bargello Museum, Florence.

Saint George. Detail. 1416 Donatello. Marble. National Bargello Museum, Florence.

Among the master's early works is also the statue of the lion "Marzocco", a symbol of Florence (1418-1420)

Marzocco. 1419 Donatello. Stone. National Bargello Museum, Florence.

In the following decade, Donatello worked on the statues of the prophets (1415–1436) for the Campanile (bell tower) of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence, which were installed in its niches. Prophet Jeremiah (1427–1426, Cathedral Museum, Florence), Prophet Habakkuk (1427–1435, Cathedral Museum, Florence) amaze with the uniqueness of their image, the power of drama, monumental grandeur and expression.

Prophet Habakkuk. 1427-36 Donatello. Cathedral Museum, Florence.

Prophet Habakkuk. Fragment. 1427-36 Donatello. Cathedral Museum, Florence.

Prophet Jeremiah. 1427-36 Donatello. Cathedral Museum, Florence.

The tomb cannot be ignored Baldassare Cossa, Antipope John XXIII* (1425-1427) - an odious character accused of all mortal sins - Donatello works on this tombstone together with Michelozzo di Bartolomeo.

The tombstone is divided into three tiers. The lower tier is decorated with garlands and images of virtues. The middle one is a sarcophagus with a figure of the deceased on top. Upper - under the folded drapery there is a bust-length image of Mary with the baby. The tombstone, adjacent to the wall and located between two columns, decorated with elements of classical architecture (pilasters, cornices, consoles) is a luxurious architectural structure. This type of tombstone, which appeared in the 13th century, became widespread in the 15th century.

Tomb of John XXIII 1435 Donatello. , Baptistery, Florence.

Tomb of John XXIII. Detail. 1435 g Donatello. , Baptistery, Florence.

In 1422, the head of the early Christian martyr Saint Rossore was transported from Pisa to Florence, and it was planned to make a new precious reliquary in the form of a bust, which the monks of the order humiliates* ordered Donatello in bronze with gilding. Payment for it was made in 1427 and 1430. The casting was made in 1427, by Giovanni di Jacopo. The bust was designed to consist of several parts in order to be subjected to fiery gilding after melting. In the middle of the 16th century, the reliquary was transferred to Pisa to the Church of San Stefano. Perhaps Donatello borrowed some details from the previous reliquary, but overall he created a new image of the Saint, using lessons from the study of Roman sculptural portrait

Saint Rossore Donatello.

Saint Rossore Reliquary. Detail. 1425-27 Donatello. Bronze. National Museum of San Matteo, Pisa.

In 1430 Donatello created "David"- the first nude statue in Italian Renaissance sculpture. In depicting his youthful body, Donatello undoubtedly proceeded from ancient models, but reworked them in the spirit of his time. The biblical shepherd, the winner of the giant Goliath, is one of the favorite images of the Renaissance. Donatello's merit lies not in the fact that he depicts a naked male body, but in the unusualness of this body itself. His bronze David does not look like a stern biblical hero, but only a weak teenager. Neither before nor after Donatello, no one portrayed David like this. Thoughtful and calm, David, wearing a shepherd’s hat shading his face, tramples Goliath’s head with his foot and seems not yet aware of the feat he has accomplished. Unlike Gothic, the statue was designed from the very beginning for an all-round view; it was intended to decorate a fountain in the courtyard of the Medici Palace.

David. 1430 Donatello.

David. Fragment. 1430 Donatello. Bronze. National Bargello Museum, Florence.

In a terracotta and painted bust Niccolo da Uzano* (c. 1432) Donatello creates the first sculptural portrait of the Renaissance. Turning to Roman portrait sculptures, the author depicted his hero, a banker and prominent politician Florence, in ancient robes as a Roman citizen.

Bust of Niccolò da Uzano 1430s Donatello. Terracotta. National Bargello Museum, Florence.

A trip to Rome with Brunelleschi greatly expanded Donatello’s artistic capabilities; his work was enriched with new images and techniques, which were influenced by antiquity. A new period has begun in the master’s work. In 1433 he completed the marble pulpit of the Florence Cathedral. The entire field of the pulpit is occupied by a jubilant round dance of dancers putti* - something like ancient cupids and at the same time medieval angels in the form of naked boys, sometimes winged, depicted in motion. This is a favorite motif in the sculpture of the Italian Renaissance, which later spread in the art of the 17th-18th centuries.

Department. 1439 Donatello. Marble. Cathedral Museum, Florence.

Department. Fragment. 1439 Donatello. Marble. Cathedral Museum, Florence.

For almost ten years Donatello worked in Padua, the homeland of the deeply revered Catholic Church Saint Anthony of Padua*. For the city cathedral dedicated to St. Anthony, Donatello completed a huge sculptural altar with many statues and reliefs in 1446-1450. The central place under the canopy was occupied by a statue of the Madonna and Child, on both sides of which there were six statues of saints. At the end of the 16th century. the altar was dismantled. Only part of it has survived to this day, and now it is difficult to imagine what it looked like originally. The four altar reliefs that have come down to us, depicting the miraculous deeds of St. Anthony, allow us to appreciate the unusual techniques used by the master. This is a type of flat, seemingly flattened relief. Crowded scenes are presented in a single movement in a real life setting. The backdrop is huge city buildings and arcades. Thanks to the transfer of perspective, the impression of depth of space appears, as in paintings.

Madonna and Child with Saints Francis and Anthony. 1448 Donatello.

Miracle with a mule.* 1447-50 Donatello. Bronze. Church of St. Antonia, Padua.

Miracle with a newborn. 1447-50 Donatello. Bronze. Church of St. Antonia, Padua.

At the same time, Donatello completed an equestrian statue of a condottiere in Padua Erasmo de Narni*, a native of Padua, who was in the service of the Venetian Republic. The Italians nicknamed him Gattamelata (Sly Cat). This is one of the first Renaissance equestrian monuments. Calm dignity is poured throughout the appearance of Gattamelata, dressed in Roman armor, with his head naked in the Roman style, which is a magnificent example of portrait art. The almost eight-meter statue on a high pedestal is equally expressive from all sides. The monument is placed parallel to the facade of the Cathedral of Sant'Antonio, which allows it to be seen either against the background of the blue sky, or in spectacular juxtaposition with the powerful forms of the domes.

Equestrian statue of Gattamelata 1447-50 Donatello.

Equestrian statue of Gattamelata Detail. 1447-50 Donatello. Bronze, Piazza del Santo, Padua.

In his last years in Florence, Donatello experienced a mental crisis, his images became more and more dramatic. He created a complex and expressive group "Judith and Holofernes"(1456-1457); statue "Mary Magdalene"(1454-1455) in the form of a decrepit old woman, an emaciated hermit in animal skin; tragic reliefs for the Church of San Lorenzo, completed by his students.

Judith and Holofernes. 1455-60 Donatello.

Judith and Holofernes. Detail. 1455-60 Donatello. Bronze, Palazzo Vecchio, Florence.

Christ before Pilate and Caiaphas. 1460 g Donatello.

Garden of Gethsemane. 1465 Donatello. Bronze. Church of San Lorenzo, Florence.

Descent from the Cross. 1465 Donatello. Bronze. Church of San Lorenzo, Florence.

Mary Magdalene 1457 g Donatello.

Mary Magdalene Detail. 1457 g Donatello. Tree. Cathedral Museum, Florence.

Donatello was tireless - one might almost say a “workaholic” - he worked in many cities - Florence, Pisa, Siena, Prato, Rome, Padua, Ferrara, Modena, Venice. His works aroused delight among his contemporaries, despite a certain uncompromisingness of the master - he did not pursue external beauty, which the public always and at all times loves, did not strive to excessively polish his statues, fearing to deprive them of the freshness of the first plan, and continued to do as he saw fit .

Donatello spent the last years of his life in Florence, working until old age; died in 1466 and was buried with great honors in the church of San Lorenzo, decorated with his works.

I will choose the prophet Habakkuk as the “hero of the evening” - he stands out from the rest and appearance, and the expression of his face and even the folds of his clothes have their own restless meaning and their own strict rhythm. Amazing figure, causing some trepidation - I want to involuntarily lower my eyes and at the same time take a closer look - in Avvakum there is no goodness, no peace - on the contrary, a constant internal fire - even dangerous, constant stern intransigence of a person who knows the future - knows what is hidden from others - from whom -sometime for a while, from someone - forever. - das_gift

Unfortunately, the notes to this text did not fit into this post, and you never want to cut notes, they are starting points, dotted and closing lines - so it’s time to make them a separate post.