Sculpture In The Age Of Donatello

A major survey on both the art and decoration of Sta. Maria del Fiore in Florence, and early Renaissance art.

Text on the latest research. While his central focus is on the work of Donatello, he also illuminates the beginnings of Renaissance sculpture in Florence, its further development in Tuscany and the rest of Italy, the new artistic goals and their theoretical formulation, and the relationships between patron and artist, convention and artistic freedom. The invaluable documentary section includes all the work of Donatello, as well as that of Ghiberti. Other important.

Donatello never ceased experimenting, even in his last sculptures, and Professor Grassi discusses some of the implicatins of his new expression. A complete index of the artist's work by location, a discussion of lost and attributed works, and selections form criticism throughout various periods complete the presentation of all of Donatello's sculpture.

Published in conjunction with an exhibition held at the Bode-Museum, Berlin, Aug. 25-Nov. 20, 2011, and at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Dec. 21, 2011-Mar. 18, 2012.

There is considerable evidence for Donatello's use of optical corrections that scholars have largely ignored. It may come in some degree from an unwillingness to accept the idea that such visual effects, developed only in the 16th century & not common until the Baroque, were even possible in the early Renaissance. This study, by its arguments & its photographic evidence, may reopen the discussion of optical corrections in the work of Donatello &, perhaps, in that of some of his contemporaries & followers as well. Contents: Introduction; Donatello's Sculpture in the Round; The Reliefs; Bibliography of Frequently Cited Sources; & 64 black & white photos of Donatello's sculptures.

While creating his famous bronze of David and Goliath, Donatello’s passion for his beautiful model and part time rent boy, Agnolo, ignites a dangerous jealousy that ultimately leads to murder. Luca, the complex and conflicted assistant, will sacrifice all to save Donatello, even his master’s friend--the great patron of art, Cosimo de’ Medici.

The Italian sculptor known as Donatello helped to forge a new kind of art—one that came to define the Renaissance. His work was progressive, challenging, and even controversial. Using a variety of novel sculptural techniques and innovative interpretations, Donatello uniquely depicted themes involving human sexuality, violence, spirituality, and beauty. But to really understand Donatello, one needs to understand his changing world, marked by the transition from Medieval to Renaissance style and to an art that was more personal and representative of the modern self. Donatello was not just a man of his times, he helped shape the spirit of the times he lived in and profoundly influenced those that came after. In this beautifully illustrated book—the first thorough biography of Donatello in twenty-five years—A. Victor Coonin describes the full extent of Donatello’s revolutionary contributions, revealing how his work heralded the emergence of modern art.