Character Catalog

Marble statue created for Orsanmichele in Florence. It marks the emergence of a new type of hero with a determined, focused gaze, embodying the Renaissance ideal of human dignity.

Marble bas-relief at the base of the Saint George niche, the earliest known application of schiacciato. Donatello creates an illusion of spatial depth through minute variations in the surface.

The first freestanding nude statue since antiquity, commissioned by the Medici. Sensuous and naturalistic, it symbolizes Florentine freedom and represents a radical break from medieval art.

The first large bronze equestrian statue of the Renaissance, erected in Padua in honor of the condottiere Erasmo da Narni. Inspired by the ancient Marcus Aurelius, it established a monumental canon imitated across Europe.

Marble gallery created for Florence Cathedral, adorned with bas-relief dancing putti of exuberant vitality. It showcases Donatello's genius for breathing movement into stone.

A polychrome wooden statue of striking realism, depicting a gaunt Magdalene ravaged by penitence. A complete break from idealized representations, it anticipates expressionism.

Donatello's final major work, left unfinished at his death. These pulpits, with their tormented reliefs depicting the Passion of Christ, convey a dramatic tension and formal freedom that foreshadow the Baroque.

Donatello was so excellent in this art that one can truly say he stands above all other modern sculptors, not only for having surpassed his own age, but because even in our day scarcely anyone can be found to equal him.

Donato, Florentine sculptor, who with the greatest industry and the greatest dedication devoted himself to the art of sculpture and, to a considerable degree, to painting as well.

In sculpture and painting there are at this time artists of singular excellence: Donatello the sculptor and Masaccio the painter, whose memorable works speak for themselves.

Donatello is one of those craftsmen who have brought glory to Florence and to our family. He must be cared for as one would care for a wise old father.

Donatello's birthplace and main city of activity. In the 15th century, Florence was the intellectual and artistic heart of the Renaissance, driven by the patronage of the Medici family and the wealth of the merchant guilds.

A combined religious and commercial building for which Donatello sculpted several monumental statues, including the famous Saint George (1416), a symbol of the Renaissance's new heroic naturalism.

Donatello worked here from 1443 to 1453, creating a monumental altar in bronze and marble. This stay in Padua spread his revolutionary style throughout northern Italy.

The square in front of the basilica where the equestrian statue of Gattamelata (1453) stands, commissioned in honor of the condottiere Erasmo da Narni. The first great equestrian statue in bronze of the Renaissance, it draws direct inspiration from the ancient Marcus Aurelius statue in Rome.

A city Donatello visited with Brunelleschi in the early 15th century to study ancient sculptures and monuments. This formative journey shaped his entire naturalistic approach and his rediscovery of the classical ideal.

The Medici family church for which Donatello created two bronze pulpits late in his life. He was buried here in 1466, beside his patron Cosimo de' Medici — an exceptional honor for an artist.