Summary
Explore the life and work of one of the greatest Renaissance sculptors, set against the background of fifteenth-century Florence.
Synopsis
Donatello may have been born over 600 years ago, but his sculpture is so powerful that it still speaks directly to us today. Working amidst the vibrant creativity of Florence in the fifteenth century, his works encompass every emotion from unalloyed joy and frivolity, through formal grandeur, to deeply personal religious conviction. A technical master, he broke new ground in the methods he used and the forms he chose to develop, leaving behind a legacy of works that seem startlingly modern.
In this study day we shall begin by looking at the artistic world of Florence around 1400, considering how new ideas shaped the way artists worked and why the city itself encouraged patronage and artistic expression. We’ll look at Donatello’s career from his apprenticeship to becoming the premier sculptor of the Florentine Republic and consider how developments in his art mirror new and exciting changes in painting and architecture during the period.
