Donatello

About Donatello

Who is it?: Sculptor
Birth Year: 1386
Birth Place: Florence, Italian
Education: Lorenzo Ghiberti
Known for: Sculpture
Notable work: St. George, David, Equestrian Monument of Gattamelata
Movement: Early Renaissance

Donatello

Donatello was born on 1386 in Florence, Italian, is Sculptor. Fifteenth century Italy witnessed a resurgence of art through the works of Donatello, the greatest and probably the most influential individual artist and sculpture then. Donatello, from an early age, showed signs of making it big in the world of art and sculpture. Pursuing his interest, he apprenticed early and meticulously learned the detailed nuances of the field. As such, he started receiving commissions for his work early on. Famous for his larger-than-life figures, Donatello evolved as an artist; his latter works being a stark contrast to his earlier ones, in terms of innovativeness. He infused emotions to his work, his sculptures denote feelings of suffering, joy, sorrow and happiness through their face and body position. His most famous work was a bronze statue of David, depicting an allegory of civic virtues winning over brutality and irrationality. The statue was one-of-its-kind for it was the first sculpture to stand independently, devoid of any architectural surrounding.
Donatello is a member of Sculptors

Some Donatello images

Biography/Timeline

2015

Some have perceived the David as having homo-erotic qualities, and have argued that this reflected the artist's own orientation. The Historian Paul Strathern makes the claim that Donatello made no secret of his homosexuality, and that his behaviour was tolerated by his friends. The main evidence comes from anecdotes by Angelo Poliziano in his "Detti piacevoli". This may not be surprising in the context of attitudes prevailing in the 15th- and 16th-century Florentine republic. However, little detail is known with certainty about his private life, and no mention of his sexuality has been found in the Florentine archives (in terms of denunciations) albeit which during this period are incomplete. Actual details of Donatello's relationships therefore remain speculative.

2016

Donatello is portrayed by Ben Starr in the 2016 television series Medici: Masters of Florence. Donatello in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is named after him. The Donatello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) built by the Italian Space Agency, was one of three MPLMs operated by NASA to transfer supplies and equipment to and from the International Space Station. The others were named Leonardo and Raffaello.

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