Donatello
(1386 - 1466) Italy
Sculptor
 
Born in Florence, Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi, called Donatello, with Brunelleschi revived the classical style, and exercised a profound influence om the masters of the Italian Renaissance. Donatello used perspective in his relief sculpures.
His bronze statues like the youthful David (1405), the first free standing (almost) nude since antiquity, or his equestrian statue of the mercenary general Gattamelata (Padua, 1443) look back to Classical prototypes but have the alert livelinesss of all early Renaissance art. His St. George (1423 - 25) presents another innovation - the subtle gaduation of the relief on more and more attenuated planes.
In his later work, such as his wood-carving of the aged Mary Magdalene (1445), he sought dramatic expression through distortion, even ugliness.
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