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October 12, 1903.J St. James's

SOME BOOKS ON ART.

Books on sculpture that are alike interesting to the student,
the art lover, and the general reader are so few in number that
Lord Balcarres' book on Donatello (Duckworth and Company),
the greatest of the early Tuscan sculptors, is very welcome.
Although Mr. Perkins, Mr. Robinson Freeman, and Miss Hope Rea
have written informatively on the subject, Lord Balcarres has given
us the first book in our language in which recent literature, in French,
German, and Italian, has been critically considered. Of late years a
great deal of new information, the product of critical, and the no less
important comparative research, has become available ; and our
author is quite justified in the statement he makes, in setting forth
the aim and scope of his work on a subject familiar to aP who know
Florence, that no such work has appeared in the English tongue.
Apart from the personality displayed by Donatello in his
works, there is little indeed in the way of material from which to
compile a story of his life. He has come down to us not by his
name — Donatadi Betto Bardi — but by a diminutive, a term of endear-
ment. But his work marks an epoch ; and as the founder of what
may be termed the modern sculpture distinct from classic forms and
net viewed as a mere architectural adjunct, his place among the great
ones is not very difficult to determine. With a loving eye for the
antique, Donatello yet managed to free himself from the conven-
tional at an early stage. Lord Balcarres puts his chief, points attrac-
tively and at the sa'me time tersely. Thus the question as to the
desirability of portrait figures is clearly discussed and the influence
of this custom towards an emancipation from bondage carefully traced.
The whole of the sculptor's works, his St. John the Baptist in the
Cathedral at Florence, his St. Mark in the Or San Michele, his ex-
quisite portrait-busts and relief heads, his uncompromising Magdalen
in the Baptistery at Florence, his magnificent equestrian statue of
General Gattamelata at Padua, his masterpieces of bronze for the
cathedral there — are described in detail ; and in many cases other
artists' conceptions of the same subject are discussed side by side in
a way that cannot fail to be of help. Incidentally a good deal of
light is thrown on the replicas and attributed works ; and to sum up
tnc excellences of a well printed, well illustrated, and well designed
book, one may say that Lord Balcarres has a nice judgment, a direct-
ness of style, a sound knowledge of his subject, and a capacity for
avoiding the least suspicion of tediousness. even when dealing with
intricate details that mark him as a valuable contributor not only to
a most interesting series but to art-literature generally.

CHRIST ON THE CROSS

SANT' ANTONIO, PADUA

DONATELLO

BY LORD BALCARRES

LONDON. DUCKWORTH AND CO.
NEW YORK: CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS

1903

Primed by Ballantyne, Hanson &> Co.
At the Ballantyne Press

PREFACE

An attempt is made in the following pages to determine
the position and character of Donate! lo's art in relation to
that of his contemporaries and successors. The subject
must be familiar to many who have visited Florence, but
no critical work on the subject has been published in
English. I have therefore quoted as many authorities as
possible in order to assist those who may wish to look
further into problems which are still unsettled. Most of
the books to which reference is made can be consulted
in the Art Library at South Kensington, and in the
British Museum. Foreign critics have written a good deal
about Donatello from varied, if somewhat limited aspects.
Dr. Bode's researches are, as a rule, illustrative of the
works of art in the Berlin Museum. The main object of
Dr. Semper was to collect documentary evidence about the
earlier part of Donatello1s life ; Gloria and Gonzati have
made researches into the Paduan period ; Lusini confines
his attention to Siena, Centofanti to Pisa ; M. Reymond and
Eugene Miintz are more comprehensive in their treatment
of the subject.

With eleven or twelve exceptions I have seen the ori-
ginal of every existing piece of sculpture, architecture and
painting mentioned in this book. I regret, however, that
among the exceptions should be a work by Donatello

vi PREFACE

himself, namely, the Salome relief at Lille — my visits to
that town having unfortunately coincided with public
holidays, when the gallery was closed. I must express my
thanks to the officials of Museums, as well as to private
collectors all over Europe, for unfailing courtesy and
assistance. I have also to acknowledge my indebtedness
to the invaluable advice of Mr. S. Arthur Strong, Librarian
of the House of Lords.

21. vi. 190S

CONTENTS

PAGE

Introduction ........ I

Competition for the Baptistery Gates ... 2

First Journey to Rome ...... 3

The Predecessors of Donatello .... 5

First Work for the Cathedral, .... 7

The Cathedral Facade ...... 8

The Daniel and Poggio . . . . . . 10

St. John the Evangelist and the marble David 14

Statues of the Campanile . . . . . 17

St. John the Baptist . . . . . . 18

Jeremiah and the Canon of Art .... 20

Habakkuk and the Sense of Distance ... 23

The Zuccone, " Realism " and Nature ... 26

The Zuccone and the Sense of Light and Shade . 29

Abraham and the Sense of Proportion ... 30

Drapery and Hands 31

Minor Works for the Cathedral .... 33

Or San Michele, St. Peter and St. Mark . . 35

St. Louis ......... 38

St. George ........ 39

Donatello and Gothic Art 42

viii

CONTENTS

The Crucifix and Annunciation

Martelli, David, and Donatello's Technique

Early Figures of St. John

Donatello as Architect and Painter

The Siena Font ....

Michelozzo and the Coscia Tomb
The Aragazzi Tomb ....

The Brancacci Tomb ....

Stiacciato ......

Tombs of Pecci, Crivelli, and Others
The Second Visit to Rome

Work at Rome

The Medici Medallions
The Bronze David ....
Donatello and Childhood
The Cantoria .....
The Prato Pulpit ....
Other Children by Donatello
Boys' Busts .....
nlccolo da uzzano and polychromacy
Portrait-busts .....
Relief-portraits ....

San Lorenzo .....
The Bronze Doors ....
The Judith .....
The Magdalen and similar Statues
The Altar at Padua
The Large Statues ....
The Bronze Reliefs ....
The Symbols of the Evangelists
The Choir of Angels

CONTENTS

The PietA and the Entombment

donatello's assistants

Bellano and the Gattamelata Tombs

Gattamelata

Smaller Reliefs and Plaquettes
The Madonnas .....
The Pulpits of San Lorenzo .
Donatello's Influence on Sculpture
Earlv Criticism of Donatello .
Character and Personality of Donatello

Appendix I

Appendix II ....
Appendix III .....
Index. ......

PAGE

164
167
170
173
176

179
186
190
193
194
199
201
204
207

ILLUSTRATIONS

Christ on the Cross

Joshua

Poggio

Mocenigo Tomb

Marble David

St. John the Evangelist

Jeremiah .

Habakkuk .

The Zuccone

Abraham and Isaac

St. Mark .

St. George .

Annunciation

San Giovannino .

St. John Baptist, Marble

Clay Sketch of Crucifixion and Flagellation

Niche of Or San Michele

The Marzocco

The Martelli Shield .

Salome Relief, Siena .

Tomb of Coscia, Pope John XXIII.

Effigy of Pope John XXIII.

Frontispiece

To face page

»>

Xll

ILLUSTRATIONS

Tomb of Cardinal Brancacci

Tomb Plate of Bishop Pecci

Tabernacle .

The Charge to Peter

The Bronze David

Cantoria

Cantoria (Detail)

The Prato Pulpit

Bronze Amorino .

San Giovannino

Niccol6 da Uzzano

Bronze Doors

Judith

St. Mary Magdalen

St. John the Baptist

Saint Francis, the Madonna, and

Anthony
Miracle of the Speaking Babe
Miracle of the Miser's Heart
Miracle of the Mule .
Symbol of St. Matthew
Choristers .
Choristers .

Christ Mourned by Angels
Super Altar by Giovanni da Pisa
Tomb of Giovanni, Son of General

melata
Tomb of General Gattamelata
Shrine of St. Justina .
General Gattamelata .
Colleone ....

Saint

Gatta

To face page

100

106

108

110

114

i»

118

122

136

140

144

146

152

156

158

160

162

164

166

168

170

172

174

176

ILLUSTRATIONS

xiii

Madonna and Child
" Pazzi " Madonna
Madonna and Child
Madonna .
Side Panel of Pulpit
End Panel of Pulpit

The reproduction! from photographs which illustrate this volume have been
made by Messrs. J. J. Waddington, Ltd. 14 Henrietta Street, W.C.

To face page

180

182

184

186

188

190

DONATELLO

The materials for a biography of Donatello are so scanty,
that his life and personality can only be studied in his
works. The Renaissance gave birth to few men of
productive genius whose actual careers are so little known.
Unlike many of his contemporaries, Donatello composed
no treatise on his art ; he wrote no memoir or com-
mentary, no sonnets, and indeed scarcely a letter of his
even on business topics has survived. For specific informa-
tion about his career we therefore depend upon some
returns made to the Florentine tax-collectors, and upon a
number of contracts and payments for work carried out in
various parts of Italy. But, however familiar Donatello
the sculptor may be to the student of Italian art,
Donatello the man must remain a mystery. His biography
offers no attraction for those whose curiosity requires
minute and intimate details of domestic life. Donatello
bequeathed nothing to posterity except a name, his
masterpieces and a lasting influence for good.

The Denunzia de1 bent, which was periodically demanded
from Florentine citizens, was a declaration of income
combined with what would now be called census returns.
Donatello made three statements of this nature,* in 1427,

* Gaye, Carteggio, i. 120. See Appendix II. A.

2 DONATELLO

1433 and 1457. It is difficult to determine his age, as
in each case the date of his birth is differently inferred.
But it is probable that the second of these returns, when he
said that he was forty-seven years old, gives his correct age.
This would place his birth in 1386, and various deductions
from other sources justify this attribution. We gather also
that Donatello lived with his mother Orsa, his father
having died before 1415. The widow, who is mentioned in
1427, and not in 1433, presumably died before the latter
date. One sister, Tita, a dowerless widow, is mentioned
in the earliest denunzia, living with her mother and
Donatello, her son Giuliano having been born in 1409. It
is probable that Donatello had a brother, but the matter
is somewhat obscure, and it is now certain that he
cannot be identified with the sculptor Simone, who used
to be considered Donatello's brother on the authority of
Vasari.

Competi- The year 1402 marks an event of far-reaching
tionforthe importance in the history of Italian art.
P ry jjavmg deeded to erect bronze doors for their
Baptistery, the Florentines invited all artists to
submit competitive designs. After a preliminary trial, six
artists were selected and a further test was imposed. They
were directed to make a bronze relief of given size and shape,
the subject being the Sacrifice of Isaac. Few themes could
have been better chosen, as the artist had to show his
capacity to portray youth and age, draped and undraped
figures, as well as landscape and animal life. The trial
plaques were to be sent to the judges within twelve
months. Donatello did not compete, being only a boy, but

FIRST JOURNEY TO ROME 8

he must have been familiar with every stage in the contest,
which excited the deepest interest in Tuscany. A jury of
thirty-four experts, among whom were goldsmiths and
painters as well as sculptors, assembled to deliver the final
verdict. The work of Jacobo della Quercia of Siena was
lacking in elegance and delicacy ; the design submitted
by Simone da Colle was marred by faulty drawing ; that
of Niccolo d\A.rezzo by badly proportioned figures ; while
Francesco di Valdambrino made a confused and in-
harmonious group. It was evident that Ghiberti and
Brunellesco were the most able competitors, and the jury
hesitated before giving a decision. Brunellesco, however,
withdrew in favour of his younger rival, and the com-
mission was accordingly entrusted to Ghiberti. The
decision was wise : Ghiberti's model, technically as well
as aesthetically, was superior to that of Brunellesco. Both
are preserved at Florence, and nobody has regretted
the acceptance of Ghiberti's design, for its rejection would
have made a sculptor of Brunellesco, whose real tastes and
inclinations were towards architecture, to which he rendered
services of incomparable value.

First For a short time Donatello was probably one

Journey to 0f the numerous garzont or assistants employed
by Ghiberti in making the gates, but his first
visit to Rome is the most important incident of his earlier
years. Brunellesco, disappointed by his defeat, and wish-
ing to study the sculpture and architecture of Rome, sold
a property at Settignano to raise funds for the journey.
He was accompanied by Donatello, his stretissimo amico,
and they spent at least a year together in Rome, learning

4 DONATELLO

what they could from the existing monuments of ancient
art, and making jewelry when money was wanted for their
household expenses. Tradition says that they once un-
earthed a hoard of old coins and were thenceforward
known as the treasure-seekers — quelli deV tesoro. But the
influence of antiquity upon Donatello was never great,
and Brunellesco had to visit Rome frequently before he
could fully realise the true bearings of classical art. It has
been argued that Donatello never made this early visit to
Rome on the ground that his subsequent work shows
no traces of classical influence. On such a problem as this
the affirmative statement of Vasari is lightly disregarded.
But the biographer of Brunellesco is explicit on the point,
giving many details about their sojourn ; and this book
was written during the lifetime of both Donatello and
Brunellesco. The argument against the visit is, in fact,
untenable. Artists were influenced by classical motives
without going to Rome. Brunellesco himself placed in his
competition design a figure inspired by the bronze boy
drawing a thorn out of his foot — the Spinario of the Capitol.
Similar examples could be quoted from the work of Luca
della Robbia, and it would be easy to show, on the other
hand, that painters like Masaccio, Fra Angelico, and Piero
della Francesca were able to execute important work in
Rome without allowing themselves to be influenced by
the classical spirit except in details and accessories. More-
over, if one desired to press the matter further, it can
be shown that in the work completed by Donatello before
1433, the year in which he made his second and un-
disputed visit, there are sufficient signs of classical motive
in his architectural backgrounds to justify the opinion
that he was acquainted with the ancient buildings of

FIRST JOURNEY TO ROME 5

Rome. The Relief on the font at Siena and that in the
Musee Wicar at Lille certainly show classical study. At
the same time, in measuring the extent to which Donatello
was influenced by his first visit to Rome, we must remember
that it is often difficult and sometimes impossible to
determine the source of what is generically called classical.
The revival or reproduction of Romanesque motives is
often mistaken for classical research. In the places
where Christianity had little classical architecture to
guide it — Ravenna, for instance — a new line was struck
out; but elsewhere the Romanesque had slowly emerged
from the classical, and in many cases there was no
strict line of demarcation between the two. But Donatello
was very young when he went to Rome, and the fashion
of the day had not then turned in favour of classical study.
The sculptors working in Rome, colourless men as they
were, drew their inspiration from Gothic and pre-Renais-
sance ideals. In Florence the ruling motives were even
more Gothic in tendency. It is in this school that
Donatello found his earliest training, and though he
modified and transcended all that his teachers could
impart, his sculpture always retained a character to which
the essential elements of classical art contributed little
or nothing.

The Prede- Florence was busily engaged in decorating her
cessors of great buildings. The fourteenth century had
witnessed the structural completion of the
Cathedral, excepting its dome, of the Campanile, and of
the Church of Or San Michele. During the later years
of the century their adornment was begun. A host of

6 DONATELLO

sculptors was employed, the number and scale of statues
required being great. There was a danger that the
sculpture might have become a mere handmaid of the
architecture to which it was subordinated. But this was
not the case ; the sculptors preserved a freedom in adapting
their figures to the existing architectural lines, and it is
precisely in the statuary applied to completed buildings
that we can trace the most interesting transitions from
Gothic to Renaissance. It is needless to discuss closely
the work which was erected before Donatello's return from
Rome : much of it has unhappily perished, and what
remains is for the purposes of this book merely illustrative
of the early inspiration of Donatello. Piero Tedesco
made a number of statues for the Cathedral, Mea and
Giottino worked for the Campanile. Lorenzo di Bicci,
sculptor, architect, and painter, was one of those whose
influence extended to Donatello ; Niccolo d'Arezzo was
perhaps the most original of this group, making a genuine
effort to shake off the conventional system. But, on the
whole, the last quarter of the fourteenth century showed
but little progress. Indeed, from the time of the later
Pisani there seems to have been a period of stagnation, a
pause during which the anticipated progress bore little
fruit. Orcagna never succeeded in developing the ideas of
his master. The shrine in Or San Michele, marvellous in
its way, admirable alike for diligence and sincerity, stands
alone, and was not imbued with the life which could make
it an influence upon contemporary art.

FIRST WORK FOR THE CATHEDRAL 7

First Work The first recorded payment to Donatello by the
for the Domopera, or Cathedral authorities, was made
ttra ' in November 1406, when he received ten golden
florins as an instalment towards his work on the two
prophets for the North door of the church, which is rather
inaccurately described in the early documents as facing
the Via de' Servi. Fifteen months later he received the
balance of six florins. These two marble figures, small as
they are, and placed high above the gables, are not very
noticeable, but they contain the germ of much which was
to follow. The term " prophet " can only be applied to them
by courtesy, for they are curly-haired boys with free and
open countenances ; one of them happens to hold a scroll
and the other wears a chaplet of bay leaves. There is a
certain charm about them, a freshness and vitality which
reappears later on when Donatello was making the dancing
children for the Prato pulpit and the singing gallery for
the Cathedral. The two prophets, particularly the one to
the right, are clothed with a skill and facility all the more
remarkable from the fact that some of the statues made
soon afterwards, show a stiff and rigid treatment of drapery.
Closely allied to these figures is a small marble statue,
about three feet high, belonging to Madame Edouard
Andre in Paris. It is a full-length figure of a standing
youth, modelled with precision, and intended to be placed
in a niche or against a background. Like the prophets
just described, it has a high forehead, while the drapery
falls in strong harmonious lines, a corner being looped up
over the left arm. It is undoubtedly by Donatello, being
the earliest example of his work in any collection, public
or private, and on that account of importance, apart from
its intrinsic merits.

8 DONATELLO

The Donatello soon received commissions for statues

Cathedral 0f a more imposing scale to be placed on the
Facade. m_fated fa9ade of the Cathedral. All beautiful
within, the churches of Florence are singularly poor in
those rich facades which give such scope to the sculptor
and architect, conferring, as at Pisa, distinction on a whole
town. The churches of the Carmine, Santo Spirito and
San Lorenzo are without facades at all, presenting graceless
and unfinished masonry in place of what was intended by
their founders. Elsewhere there are late and florid facades
alien to the spirit of the main building, while it has been
left to our own generation to complete Santa Croce and the
Cathedral. The latter, it is true, once had a facade, which,
though never finished, was ambitiously planned. A large
section of it was, however, erected in Donatello's time, but
was removed for no reason which can be adequately ex-
plained, except that on the occasion of a royal marriage it
was thought necessary to destroy what was contrived in
the maniera tedesca* substituting a sham painted affair
which was speedily ruined by the elements. The ethics of
vandalism are indeed strange and varied. In this case
vanity was responsible. It was superstition which led the
Sienese, after incurring defeat by the Florentines, to
remove from their market-place the famous statue by
Lysippus which brought them ill-luck, and to bury it in
Florentine territory, so that their enemies might suffer
instead. Ignorance nearly induced a Pope to destroy
the " Last Judgment " of Michael Angelo, whose colossal
statue of an earlier Pontiff, Julius II., was broken up
through political animosity. One wishes that in this last
case there had been some practical provision such as that
inserted by the House of Lords in the order for destroying

THE CATHEDRAL FACADE 9

the Italian Tombs at Windsor in 1645, when they ordained
that " they that buy the tombs shall have liberty to trans-
port them beyond the seas, for making the best advantage
of them." The vandalism which dispersed Donatello's
work could not even claim to be utilitarian, like that which
so nearly caused the destruction of the famous chapel by
Benozzo Gozzoli in the Riccardi Palace (for the purposes
of a new staircase) ; * neither was it caused by the exigen-
cies of war, such as the demolition of the Monastery of
San Donato, a treasure-house of early painting, razed to
the ground by the Florentines when awaiting the siege of
1529. The Cathedral facade was hastily removed, and
only a fraction of the statuary has survived. Two figures
are in the Louvre; another has been recently presented
to the Cathedral by the Duca di Sermoneta, himself a
Caetani, of Boniface VIII., a portrait-statue even more
remarkable than that of the same Pope at Bologna. Four
more figures from the old facade, now standing outside the
Porta Romana of Florence, are misused and saddened
relics. They used to be the major prophets, but on trans-
lation were crowned with laurels, and now represent Homer,
Virgil, Dante and Petrarch. Other statues are preserved
inside the Cathedral. Before dealing with these it is
necessary to point out how difficult it is to determine the
authorship and identity of the surviving figures. In the
first place, our materials for reconstructing the design of
the old facade are few. There were various pictures, some
of which in their turn have perished, where guidance might
have been expected. But the representations of the
Cathedral in frescoes at San Marco, Santa Croce, the
Misericordia and Santa Maria Novella help us but little.
* Cinelli, p. 22.

10 DONATELLO

Up to the eighteenth century there used to be a model in
the Opera del Duomo : this also has vanished, and we are
compelled to make our deductions from a rather unsatis-
factory drawing made by Bernardo Pocetti in the sixteenth
century. It shows the disposition of statuary so sketchily
that we can only recognise a few of the figures. But we
have a perfect idea of the general style and aim of those
who planned the facade, which would have far surpassed
the rival frontispieces of Siena, Pisa and Orvieto. We
are met by a further difficulty in identifying the surviving
statues from the fact that the contracts given to sculptors
by the Chapter do not always specify the personage to be
represented. Moreover, in many cases the statues have no
symbol attribute or legend, which usually guide our inter-
pretation of mediaeval art. Thus Donatello is paid pro
parte solutionis unius figure rnarmoree ; * or for figuram
marmoream.^ Even when an obvious and familiar expla-
nation could be given, such as Abraham and Isaac, the
accounts record an instalment for the figure of a prophet
with a naked boy at his feet.J

The Daniel Nine large marble figures for the Cathedral
and Poggio. are now accepted as the work of Donatello.
Others may have perished, and it is quite possible that
in one at least of the other statues Donatello may have
had a considerable share. With the exception of St. John
the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist, all these statues
are derived from the Old Testament — Daniel, Jeremiah
and Habbakuk, Abraham and the marble David in the
Bargello, together with the two figures popularly called
* 23, xii. 1418. t 12, xii. 1408. % 30, v. 1421.

JOSHUA

CATHEDRAL, FLORENCE

THE DANIEL AND POGGIO 11

Poggio and the Zuccone. Among the earliest, and, it must
be acknowledged, the least interesting of these statues
is the prophet standing in a niche in the south aisle close
to the great western door of the Cathedral. It has been
long recognised as a Donatello,* and has been called Joshua.
But, apart from the fact that he holds the scroll of a
prophet, whereas one would rather expect Joshua to carry
a sword, this statue is so closely related to the little prophets
of the Mandorla door that it is almost certainly coeval
with them, and consequently anterior in date to the period
of the Joshua for which Donatello was paid some years
later. We find the same broad flow of drapery, and the
weight of the body is thrown on to one hip in a pro-
nounced manner, which is certainly ungraceful, though
typical of Donatello's early ideas of balance. It probably
represents Daniel. He has the high forehead, the thick
curly hair and the youthful appearance of the other
prophets, while his " countenance appears fairer and fatter
in flesh,''! reminding one of Michael Angelo's treatment of
the same theme in the Sistine Chapel.

Like several of Donatello's statues, this figure is con-
nected with the name of a Florentine citizen, Giannozzo
Manetti, and passes for his portrait. There is no authority
for the tradition, and Vespasiano de' Bisticci makes no
reference to the subject in his life of Manetti. The statue
is, no doubt, a portrait and may well have resembled
Manetti, but in order to have been directly executed as a
portrait it could scarcely have been made before 1426, when
Manetti was thirty years old, by which date the character
of Donatello's work had greatly changed. These traditional
names have caused many critical difficulties, as, when accepted

* Osservatore Fiorentino, 1797, 3rd ed., iv. 216. t.Damel i. 15.

12 DONATELLO

as authentic, the obvious date of the statue has been
arbitrarily altered, so that the statue may harmonise in
point of date of execution with the apparent age of the
individual whom it is supposed to portray. A second
example of the confusion caused by the over-ready accept-
ance of these nomenclatures is afforded by the remarkable
figure which stands in the north aisle of the Cathedral,
opposite the Daniel. This statue has been called a portrait
of Poggio Bracciolini, the secretary of many Popes. Poggio
was born in 1380 and passed some time in Florence during
the year 1456. It has, therefore, been assumed * that the
statue was made at this time or shortly afterwards, either
as Donatello's tribute of friendship to Poggio or as an
order from the Cathedral authorities in his commemora-
tion. This theory is wholly untenable. We have no
record of any such work in 1456. The statue does not
portray a man seventy-six years old. Distinguished as
Poggio was, his nature did not endear him greatly to the
Florentine churchmen ; and, finally, the style of the
sculpture predicates its execution between 1420 and 1430.
We can, of course, admit that Poggio's features may have
been recognised in the statue, and that it soon came to be
considered his portrait. In any case, however, we are
dealing with a portrait-statue. The keen and almost
cynical face, with its deep and powerful lines, is certainly
no creation of the fancy, but the study of somebody whom
Donatello knew. It is true there are contradictions in the
physiognomy : sarcasm and benevolence alternate, as the
dominating expression of the man's character. The whole
face is marked by the refinement of one from whom precision
and niceness of judgment would be expected. It is not
* Semper, I., p. 132.

POGGIO

CATHEDRAL, FLORENCE

THE DANIEL AND POGGIO 13

altogether what Poggio's achievements would lead one to
expect ; neither is it of a type which, as has been suggested,
would allow us to call it the missing Joshua. The idea
that Job may be the subject is too ingenious to receive
more than a passing reference.*

There is one detail in the statue of Poggio which
raises a problem familiar to students of fifteenth-century
art, especially frequent in paintings of the Madonna,
namely, the cryptic lettering to be found on the borders of
garments. In the case of Poggio, the hem of the tunic
just below the throat is incised with deep and clear cyphers
which cannot be read as a name or initials. Many cases
could be quoted to illustrate the practice of giving only
the first letters of words forming a sentence.f In this
case the script is not Arabic, as on Verrochio's David.
The lettering on the Poggio, as on Donatello's tomb of
Bishop Pecci at Siena and elsewhere, has not been satisfac-
torily explained. Even if painters were in the habit of
putting conventional symbols on their pictures in the
form of inscriptions, it is not likely that this careful
and elaborate carving should be meaningless. The solu-
tion may possibly be found in Vettorio Ghiberti's draw-
ing of a bell, the rim of which is covered with similar
hieroglyphics. The artist has transcribed in plain writing
a pleasant Latin motto which one may presume to be
the subject of the inscription. If this were accurately

* Schmarsow, p. 10.

t The conclusion of Dello's epitaph, as recorded by Vasari, is
H.S.E.S.T.T.L.— i.e., Hie sepultus est, sit tibi terra kvis. The bas-relief
of Faith in the Bargello is signed O M.C.L., i.e.. Opus Mattai Civitali
Lucensis. There is a manuscript of St. Jerome in the Rylands Library
at Manchester in which long texts are quoted by means of the initial
letters alone.

14 DONATELLO

deciphered a clue might be found to unravel this obscure
problem.*

Closely analogous to the statue which we must continue
to call Poggio is a striking figure of Justice surmounting
the tomb of Tommaso Mocenigo in the Church of San
Giovanni e Paolo at Venice. Mocenigo died in 1423, and
the tomb was made by two indifferent Florentine artists,
whose poor and imitative work must be referred to later on
in connection with the St. George. But the Justice, a
vigorous and original figure, holding a scroll and looking
downwards, so absolutely resembles the Poggio in concep-
tion, attitude, and fall of drapery, that the authorship
must be referred to Donatello himself. It is certainly no
copy. One cannot say how this isolated piece of Donatello's
work should have found its way to Venice, although by 1423
Donatello's reputation had secured him commissions for
Orvieto and Ancona and Siena. But it is not necessary to
suppose that this Justice was made to order for the
Mocenigo tomb ; had it remained in Florence it would
have been long since accepted as a genuine example of the
master.

St. John The third great statue made for the facade by
the Evan- Donatello is now placed in a dark apsidal
°, , . chapel, where the light is so bad that the figure

David. ^s often invisible. This is the statue of St. John
the Evangelist, and is much earlier than Poggio,
having been ordered on December 12, 1408. Two evangelists
were to be placed on either side of the central door. Nanni

* MS. Sketch-Book in Bibl. Naz., Florence, lettered "Ghiberti,"
folio 51a.

MOCENIGO TOMB

SAN GIOVANNI E PAOLO, VENICE

ST. JOHN AND THE MARBLE DAVID 15

di Banco was to make St. Luke, Niccolo cPArezzo St. Mark,
and it was intended that the fourth figure should be
entrusted to the most successful of the three sculptors ;
but in the following year the Domopera changed their
plan, giving the commission for St. Matthew to Bernardo
Ciuffagni, a sculptor somewhat older than Donatello.
Ciuffagni was not unpopular as an artist, for he received
plenty of work in various parts of Italy ; but he was a
man of mediocre talent, neither archaic nor progressive,
making occasional failures and exercising little influence
for good or ill upon those with whom he came in contact.
He has, however, one valued merit, that of being a man
about whom we have a good deal of documentary informa-
tion. Donatello worked on the St. John for nearly seven
years, and, according to custom, was under obligation to
complete the work within a specified time. Penalty clauses
used to be enforced in those days. Jacopo della Quercia
ran the danger of imprisonment for neglecting the com-
mands of Siena. Torrigiano having escaped from England
was recalled by the help of Ricasoli, the Florentine
resident in London, and was fortunate to avoid punishment.
Donatello finished his statue in time, and received his final
instalment in 1415, the year in which the figures were set
up beside the great Porch. This evangelist, begun when
Donatello was twenty- two and completed before his thirtieth
year, challenges comparison with one worthy rival, the
Moses of Michael Angelo. The Moses was the outcome of
many years of intermittent labour, and was created by
the help of all the advances made by sculpture during a
century of progress. Yet in one respect only can Michael
Angelo claim supremacy. Hitherto Donatello had made
nothing but standing figures. The St. John sits; he is

16 DONATELLO

almost inert, and does not seem to await the divine
message. But how superb it is, this majestic calm and
solemnity ; how Donatello triumphs over the lack of giving
tension to what is quiescent ! The Penseroso also sits and
meditates, but every muscle of the reposing limbs is alert.
So, too, in the Moses, with all its exaggeration and melo-
drama, with its aspect of frigid sensationalism, which led
Thackeray to say he would not like to be left alone in
the room with it, we find every motionless limb imbued
with vitality and the essentials of movement. The
Moses undoubtedly springs from the St. John, transcend-
ing it as Beethoven surpassed Haydn. In spite of nearly
unpardonable faults verging on decadence, it is the
greater though the less pleasing creation of the two.
The St. John surveys the world ; the Moses speaks with
God.

The fourth statue made for the Cathedral proper is con-
temporary with the St. John. The marble David, ordered
in 1408 and completed in 1416, was destined for a chapel
inside the church. The Town Commissioners, however,
sent a somewhat peremptory letter to the Domopera and
the statue was handed over to them. It was placed in the
great hall of the Palace, was ultimately removed to the
Uffizzi, and is now in the Bargello Museum. The David
certainly has a secular look. This ruddy youth of a fair
countenance, crowned with a wreath, stands in an attitude
which is shy and perhaps awkward, and by his feet lies the
head of Goliath with the smooth stone from the brook
deeply embedded in his forehead. The drapery of the
tunic is close fitting, moulded exactly to the lines of his
frame, and above it a loose cloak hangs over the shoulders
and falls to the ground with a corner of cloth looped over

MARBLE DAVID

BARGELLO, FLORENCE

ST. JOHN AND THE MARBLE DAVID 17

one of the wrists in a familiar way.* It would be idle
to pretend that the David is a marked success like the
St. John. It neither attains an ideal, as in the St. George,
nor is it a profound interpretation of character like the
Habbakuk or Jeremiah. Its effect is impaired by this
sense of compromise and uncertainty. It is one of the very
rare cases in which Donatello hesitated between divergent
aims and finally translated his doubts into marble.

Statues We must now refer to a group of statues which
of the adorn the Campanile, the great Bell tower

Campanile. designed by Giotto for the Cathedral. Not

counting the numerous reliefs, there are sixteen statues in
all, four on each side of the tower, and in themselves they
epitomise early Florentine sculpture. Donatello's statues of
Jeremiah, Abraham, and St. John the Baptist offer no diffi-
culties of nomenclature, but the Zuccone and the Habbakuk
are so called on hypothetical grounds. The Zuccone has been
called by this familiar nickname from time immemorial :
bald-head or pumpkin — such is the meaning of the word,
and nobody has hitherto given a reasoned argument to
identify this singular figure with any particular prophet.
As early as 1415 Donatello received payment for some of
this work, and the latest record on the subject is dated
1435. We may therefore expect to find some variety in
idea and considerable development in technique during
these twenty years. Donatello was not altogether single-
handed. It is certain that by the time these numerous
works were being executed he was assisted by scholars, and
the Abraham was actually made in collaboration with
* Cf. Madame Andre's prophet and figures on Mandorla door.

18 DONATELLO

Giovanni di Bartolo, surnamed II Rosso. It is not easy to
discriminate between the respective shares of the partners.
Giovanni was one of those men whose style varied with
the dominating influence of the moment. At Verona he
almost ceased to be Florentine : at Tolentino he was him-
self; working for the Campanile he was subject to the
power of Donatello. The Prophet Obadiah, which corre-
sponds in position to the St. John Baptist of Donatello on
the western face of the tower, shows Rosso to have been a
correct and painstaking sculptor, with notions much in
advance of CiufFagnrs ; noticeable also for a refinement in
the treatment of hands, in which respect many of his rivals
lagged far behind. Judging from the inscription at
Verona, Rosso was appreciated by others — or by himself:*
he is, in fact, an artist of merit, rarely falling below a
respectable average in spite of the frequency with which he
changed his style.

St. John Rosso does not compare favourably with
the Donatello. Obadiah is less attractive than St.

John the Baptist, its pendant. The test is
admittedly severe, for the St. John is a figure remark-
able alike in conception and for its technical skill. Were
it not for the scroll bearing the " Ecce Agnus Dei," we
should not suggest St. John as the subject. Donatello
made many Baptists — boys, striplings and men young and
mature : but in this case only have we something bright
and cheerful. He is no mystic ; he differs fundamentally

* On the Brenzoni tomb in the Church of San Fermo : " Quem
genuit Russi Florentia Tusca Johanis : istud sculpsit opus ingeniosa
manus."

**v

SvAv.^^'v,v?

ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST

CATHEDRAL, FLORENCE

ST. JOHN THE BAFflST 19

from the gloomy ascetic and the haggard suffering figures
in Siena and Berlin. So far from being morose in appear-
ance, clad in raiment of camel's hair, fed upon locusts and
wild honey, and summoning the land of Judaea to repent,
we have a vigorous young Tuscan, well dressed and well
fed, standing in an easy and graceful attitude and not
without a tinge of pride in the handsome countenance. In
short, the statue is by no means typical of the Saint. It
would more aptly represent some romantic knight of
chivalry, a Victor, a Maurice — even a St. George. It
competes with Donatello's own version of St. George.
In all essentials they are alike, and the actual figures
are identical in gesture and pose, disregarding shield and
armour in one case, scroll and drapery in the other. The
two figures are so analogous, that as studies from the nude
they would be almost indistinguishable. They differ in
this : that the Saint on the Campanile is John the Baptist
merely because we are told so, while the figure made for
Or San Michele is inevitably the soldier saint of Christen-
dom. It must not be inferred that the success of plastic,
skill less that of pictorial, art depends upon the accuracy
or vividness with which the presentment " tells its story."
Under such a criterion the most popular work of art would
necessarily bear the palm of supremacy. But there should
be some relation between the statue and the subject-
matter. Nobody knew this better than Donatello : he
seldom incurred the criticism directed against Myron the
sculptor — Animi sensus non expressisse videtur* The
occasional error, such as that just noticed, or when he gives
Goliath the head of a mild old gentleman,f merely throws
into greater prominence the usual harmony between his
* Pliny, xxxiv. 19, 3. t Bargello David.

20 DONATELLO

conception and its embodiment. The task of making pro-
phets was far from simple. Their various personalities, little
known in our time, were conjectural in his day : neither
would the conventional scroll of the prophet do more than
give a generic indication of the kind of person repre-
sented. Donatello, however, made a series of figures from
which the jJGoc of the prophets emanates with unequalled
force.

Jeremiah The Jeremiah, for instance, which is in the niche

and the adjacent to the still more astonishing Zuccone
Canon of . ., -, -, x .

faj. (looking westwards towards the Baptistery), is

a portrait study of consummate power. It is
the very man who wrote the sin of Judah with a pen of
iron, the man who was warned not to be dismayed at the
faces of those upon whose folly he poured the vials of
anger and scorn ; he is emphatically one of those who
would scourge the vices of his age. And yet this Jeremiah
has his human aspect. The strong jaw and tightly closed
lips show a decision which might turn to obstinacy ; but
the brow overhangs eyes which are full of sympathy, bear-
ing an expression of sorrow and gentleness such as one
expects from the man who wept for the miserable estate of
Jerusalem — Quomodo sedet sola civitas !

Tradition says that this prophet is a portrait of
Francesco Soderini, the opponent of the Medici ; while the
Zuccone is supposed to be the portrait of Barduccio
Cherichini, another anti-Medicean partisan. Probabilities
apart, much could be urged against the attributions, which
are really on a par with the similar nomenclatures of
Manetti and Poggio. The important thing is that they

JEREMIAH

CAMPANILE, FLORENCE

JEREMIAH AND THE CANON OF ART 21

are undoubted portraits, their identity being of secondary
interest ; the fact that a portrait was made at all is of far
greater moment to the history of art. Later on, Savonarola
(whose only contribution to art was an unconscious inspira-
tion of the charming woodcuts with which his sermons and
homilies were illustrated) protested warmly against the
prevailing habit of giving Magdalen and the Baptist the
features of living and well-known townsfolk.* The practice
had, no .doubt, led to scandal. But with Donatello it
marks an early stage in emancipation from the bondage of
conventionalism. Not, indeed, that Donatello was the
absolute innovator in this direction, though it is to his
efforts that the change became irresistible. Thus in these
portrait-prophets we find the proof of revolution. The
massive and abiding art of Egypt ignored the personality
of its gods and Pharaohs, distinguishing the various
persons by dress, ornament, and attribute. They had
their canon of measurement, of which the length of the
nose was probably the unit.f The Greeks, who often took
the length of the human foot as unit, were long enslaved
by their canon. Convention made them adhere to a
traditional face after they had made themselves masters of
the human form. The early figures of successful athletes
were conventional ; but, according to Pliny, when some-
body was winner three times the statue was actually
modelled from his person, and was called a portrait-figure :
" ex membris ipsorum similitiidine expressa, quas iconicas
vocant I " Not until Lysistratus first thought of reproducing
the human image by means of a cast from the face itself,
did they get the true portrait in place of their previous

* In 1496. See Gruyer, " Les Illustrations," 1879, p. 206.
t C. Miiller, "Ancient Art and its Remains," p. 227.

22 DONATELLO

efforts to secure generalised beauty.* In fact, their canon
was so stringent that it would permit an Apollo Belvedere
to be presented by foppish, well-groomed adolescence, with
plenty of vanity but with little strength, and altogether
without the sign-manual of godhead or victory. Despite
shortcomings, Donatello seldom made the mistake of
merging the subject in the artist's model : he did not
forget that the subject of his statue had a biography.
He had no such canon. Italian painting had been under
the sway of Margaritone until Giotto destroyed the tradi-
tional system. Early Italian coins show how convention
breeds a canon — they were often depraved survivals of
imperial coins, copied and recopied by successive generations
until the original meaning had completely vanished, while
the semblance remained in debased outline. Nothing
can be more fatal than to make a canon of art, to render
precise and exact the laws of aesthetics. Great men, it
is true, made the attempt. Leonardo, for instance, gives
the recipe for drawing anger and despair. His " Trattato
della Pintura " f describes the gestures appropriate for an
orator addressing a multitude, and he gives rules for
making a tempest or a deluge. He had a scientific law
for putting a battle on to canvas, one condition of which
was that " there must not be a level spot which is not
trampled with gore.11 But Leonardo da Vinci did no
harm ; his canon was based on literary rather than artistic
interests, and he was too wise to pay much attention to his
own rules. Another man who tried to systematise art was
Leon Battista Alberti, who gave the exact measurements
of ideal beauty, length and circumference of limbs, &c.,

* Pliny, xxxvi. 44.

t Printed in Richter's " Literary Works of Leonardo da Vinci," vol. i.

HABBAKUK AND DISTANCE 23

thus approaching a physical canon. The absurdity of
these theories is well shown in the "Rules of Drawing
Caricatures,*" illustrated by " mathematical diagrams.'" *
Development and animation are impossible wherever an
art is governed by this sterile and deadening code of law.
The religious art of the Eastern Church has been stationary
for centuries, confined within the narrow limits of hieratic
conventions. Mount Athos has the pathetic interest of
showing the dark ages surviving down to our own day in
the vigour of unabated decadence. Though not subjected
to any serious canon, the predecessors of Donatello seemed
at one time in danger of becoming conventionalised. But
Donatello would not permit his art to be divorced from
appeals to reason and intellect ; once started, his theory
held it own. Donatello was bound by no laws ; with all
its cadence and complexity his art was unsuited to a canon
as would be the art of music. He seems almost to have
disregarded the ordinary physical limitations under which
he worked. He had no " cant of material,11 and whether
in stone, bronze, wood, or clay, he went straight ahead in
the most unconcerned manner.

Habbakuk We do not know much about Habbakuk. He
and the ]eft ^wo or three pages of passionate complaint
Distance agamst the iniquity of the land, but his
" burden 11 lacks those outbursts of lyric poetry
which are found in most of the other minor prophets. Dona-
tello gives him the air of a thinker. He holds a long scroll
to which he points with his right hand while looking down-
ward, towards the door of the Cathedral. It is a strong head,
* By Francis Grose, the Antiquary. London, 1788.

24 DONATELLO

as full of character as the Jeremiah. But Habbakuk is less
the man of action, and the deep lines about the mouth and
across the forehead show rather the fruits of contemplation.
There may be a note of scepticism in the face. But this Hab-
bakuk is no ascetic, and there is much strength in reserve :
his comment though acrid would be just. The veins in
the throat stand out like cords. They are much more
noticeable in the photograph than when one sees the statue
from the Piazza. It must be remembered that these figures
on the Campanile are something like fifty-five feet from the
ground: they were made for these lofty positions, and
were carved accordingly. They show Donate] lo"s sense of
distance ; the Zuccone shows his sense of light and shade,
the Abraham his sense of proportion. Donatello had the
advantage of making these figures for particular places •
his sculpture was eminently adapted to the conditions
under which it was to be seen. In the vast majority of
cases modern sculpture is made for undetermined positions}
and is fortunate if it obtains a suitable emplacement. It
seldom gets distance, light and proportion in harmony with
the technical character of the carving. Donatello paid the
greatest care to the relation between the location of the
statue and its carving : his work consequently suffers
enormously by removal : to change its position is to take
away something given it by the master himself. The
Judith looks mean beneath the Loggia de' Lanzi ; the
original of the St. George in the museum is less telling than
the copy which has replaced it at Or San Michele. Photo-
graphy is also apt to show too clearly certain exaggerations
and violences deliberately calculated by Donatello to
compensate for distance, as on the Campanile, or for
darkness, as on the Cantoria. The reproductions, therefore,

HABAKKUK

CAMPANILE, FLORENCE

HABBAKUK AND DISTANCE 25

of those works not intended to be seen from close by must
be judged with this reservation. The classical sculptors
seem to have been oblivious of this sense of distance. Cases
have been quoted to show that they did realise it, such
as the protruding forehead of Zeus or the deep-set eyes of
the Vatican Medusa. These are accidents, or at best coin-
cidences, for the sense of distance is not shown by merely
giving prominence to one portion or feature of a face. In
Roman art the band of relief on the Column of Trajan cer-
tainly gets slightly broader as the height increases : but
the modification was half-hearted. It does not help one to
see the carving, which at the summit is almost meaningless,
while it only serves to diminish the apparent height of the
column. So, too, in the triumphal arches of the Roman
Emperors little attention was paid to the relative and
varying attitudes of the bas-reliefs. From Greek art the
Parthenon Frieze gives a singular example of this unreal-
ised law. When in situ the frieze was only visible at a
most acute angle and in a most unfavourable light : beyond
the steps it vanished altogether, so one was obliged to
stand among the columns to see it at all, and it was
also necessary to look upwards almost perpendicularly.
The frieze is nearly three feet four inches high and its
upper part is carved in rather deeper relief than the base :
but, even so, the extraordinary delicacy of this unique
carving was utterly wasted, since the technical treatment
of the marble was wholly unsuited to its emplacement.
The amazing beauty of the sculpture and the unsurpassed
skill of Phidias were never fully revealed until its home
had been changed from Athens to Bloomsbury.

26 DONATELLO

The The Zuccone is one of the eternal mysteries of

Zuccone, Italian art. What can have been Donatello's

Realism jntention ? Why give such prominence to this
Nature graceless type ? Baldinucci called it St. Mark.*
Others have been misled by the lettering on the
plinth below the statue " David Rex"" : beneath the Jeremiah
is "Salomon Rex."f These inscriptions belonged, of course,
to the kings which made way for Donatello's prophets. The
Zuccone must belong to the series of prophets ; it is fruitless
to speculate which. Cherichini may have inspired the
portrait. Its ugliness is insuperable. It is not the vulgar
ugliness of a caricature, nor is it the audacious embodiment
of some hideous misshapen creature such as we find in
Velasquez, in the Gobbo of Verona, or in the gargoyles
of Notre Dame. There is no deformity about it, probably
very little exaggeration. It is sheer uncompromising
ugliness ; rendered by the cavernous mouth, the blear eyes,
the flaccid complexion, the unrelieved cranium — all carried
to a logical conclusion in the sloping shoulders and the
simian arms. But the Zuccone is not "revenged of
nature " : there is nothing to " induce contempt.11 On the
other hand, indeed, there is a tinge of sadness and compas-
sion, objective and subjective, which gives it a charm, even a
fascination. Tanto e bella, says Bocchi, tanto e vera, tanto
e naturale, that one gazes upon it in astonishment, wonder-
ing in truth why the statue does not speak ! % Bocchfs
criticism cannot be improved. The problem has been
obfuscated by the modern jargon of art. Donatello has
been charged with orgies of realism and so forth. There

may be realism, but the term must be used with discretion :

* Edition 1768, p. 74. t E.g., Milanesi, Catalogo, 1887, p. 6.
X Cinelli's edition, 1677, p. 45.

THE ZUCCONE

CAMPANILE, FLORENCE

ZUCCONE, "REALISM" AND NATURE 27

nowadays it generally connotes the ugly treatment of an
ugly theme, and is applied less as a technical description
than as a term of abuse. Donatello was certainly no realist in
the sense that an ideal was excluded, nor could he have been
led by realism into servile imitation or the multiplica-
tion of realities. After a certain point the true ceases to
be true, as nobody knew better than Barye, the greatest
of the " realists." The Zuccone can be more fittingly
described in Bocchi's words. It is the creation of a verist,
of a naturalist, founded on a clear and intimate perception
of nature. Donatello was pledged to no system, and his
only canon, if such existed, was the canon of observation
matured by technical ability. We have no reason to
suppose that Donatello claimed to be a deep thinker. He
did not spend his time, like Michael Angelo, in devising
theories to explain the realms of art. He was without
analytical pedantry, and, like his character, his work was
naive and direct. Nor was he absorbed by appreciation of
" beauty," abstract or concrete. If he saw a man with a
humped back or a short leg he would have been prepared
to make his portrait, assuming that the entity was not in
conflict with the subject in hand. Hence the Zuccone.
Its mesmeric ugliness is the effect of Donatello's gothic
creed, and it well shows how Donatello, who from his
earliest period was opposed to the conventions of the Pisan
school, took the lead among those who founded their art
upon the observation of nature. A later critic, shrewd and
now much neglected, said that Titian " contented himself
with pure necessity, which is the simple imitation of
nature." * One could not say quite so much of Donatello, in
whom, curiously enough, the love of nature was limited to its
* Raffaelle Mengs, Collected Works. London, 1796, I., p. 132.

28 DONATELLO

human aspect. He seems to have been impervious to outdoor
nature, to the world of plants and birds and beasts. Ghiberti,
his contemporary, was a profound student of natural life
in all its forms, and the famous bronze doors of the
Baptistery are peopled with the most fanciful products of
his observation. " I strove to imitate nature to the utmost
degree,,, he says in his commentary.* Thus Ghiberti
makes a bunch of grapes, and wanting a second bunch as
pendant, he takes care to make it of a different species.
The variety and richness of his fruit and flower decoration
are extraordinary and, if possible, even more praiseworthy
than the dainty garlands of the Delia Robbia. With
Donatello all is different. He took no pleasure in enrich-
ing his sculpture in this way. The Angel of the Annun-
ciation carries no lily; when in the Tabernacle of St.
Peter's he had to decorate a pilaster he made lilies, but
stiff and unreal. His trees in the landscape backgrounds
of the Charge to Peter and the Release of Princess Sabra
by St. George are tentative and ill-drawn. The children
of the Cantoria, the great singing gallery made for the
Cathedral, are dancing upon a ground strewn with flowers
and fruit. The idea was charming, but in executing it
Donatello could only make cut flowers and withered fruit.
There is no life in them, no savour, and the energy of the
children seems to have exhausted the humbler form of vitality
beneath their feet. Years afterwards, when Donatello's assist-
ants were allowed a good deal of latitude, we find an effort
to make more use of this invaluable decoration : the pulpits
of San Lorenzo, for instance, have some trees and climbing
weeds showing keen study of nature. But Donatello himself
always preferred the architectural background, in contrast to

* Printed in Vasari, Lemonnier Ed., 1846, vol. i.

ZUCCONE, AND LIGHT AND SHADE 29

Leonardo da Vinci, who, with all his love of building, seldom
if ever used one in the backgrounds of his pictures: but
then Leonardo was the most advanced botanist of his age.

The Speaking of the employment of light and shade

Zuccone ^ instruments in art, Cicero says: "Multa vident

and the . . . r . , . ,.

Sense of pwtores in umoris et in eminentia, qua not nan

Light and videmus" One may apply the dictum to the

Shade. Zuccone where Donatello has carved the head

with a rugged boldness, leaving the play of light and shade

to complete the portrait. Davanzati was explicit on the

matter,* showing that the point of view from which the

Zuccone was visible made this coarse treatment imperative,

if the spectator below was to see something forcible and

impressive. " The eyes," he says, " are made as if they

were dug out with a shovel : eyes which would appear

lifelike on the ground level would look blind high up

on the Campanile, for distance consumes diligence — la

lontananza si mangia la diligenzia.'" The doctrine could

not be better stated, and it governs the career of

Donatello. There is nothing like the Zuccone in Greek

art : nothing so ugly, nothing so wise. Classical sculptors

in statues destined for lofty situations preserved the

absolute truth of form, but their diligence was consumed

by distance. What was true in the studio lost its truth

on a lofty pediment or frieze. They preserved accuracy

of form, but they sacrificed accuracy of appearance ;

whereas relative truth was in reality far more important —

until, indeed, the time comes when the lights and shades of

the studio are reproduced in some art gallery or museum.

* In Introduction to his translation of Tacitus.

30 DONATELLO

Abraham The statue of Abraham and Isaac on the east
and the side of the Campanile is interesting as being
ense oi ^e ^rs^ grollp ma(je by Donatello. The subject
' had already been treated by Brunellesco and
Ghiberti in relief. Donatello had to make his figures on
a larger scale. Abraham is a tall, powerful man with a
long flowing beard, looking upwards as he receives the
command to sheath the dagger already touching the
shoulder of his son. The naked boy is kneeling on his
left leg and is modelled with a good deal of skill, though,
broadly speaking, the treatment is rather archaic in
character. It is a tragic scene, in which the contrast of
the inexorable father and the resigned son is admirably
felt. Donatello had to surmount a technical difficulty, that
of putting two figures into a niche only intended for one.
His sense of proportion enabled him to make a group
in harmony with its position and environment. It Jits the
niche. Statues are so often unsuited to their niches ; scores
of examples could be quoted from Milan Cathedral alone
where the figures are too big or too small, or where the
base slopes downwards and thus fails to give adequate
support to the figure. There is an old tradition which
illustrates Donatello"s aptitude for grouping. Nanni di
Banco had to put four martyrs into a niche of Or San
Michele, and having made his statues found it impossible
to get them in. Donatello was invoked, and by removing
a superfluous bit of marble here, and knocking off an arm
there, the four figures were successfully grouped together.
The statues, it must be admitted, show no signs of such
usage, and Nanni was a competent person : but the story
would not have been invented unless Donatello had been
credited in his own day with the reputation of being

ABRAHAM AND ISAAC
CAMPANILE, FLORENCE

DRAPERY AND HANDS 31

a master of proportion and grouping. Donatello, however,
never really excelled in the free standing group. His idea
was a suite or series of figures against a background, a
bas-relief. The essential quality of a group is that there
should be something to unite the figures. We find this in
the Abraham, but the four martyrs by Nanni di Banco are
standing close together as if by chance, and cannot properly
be called a group in anything but juxtaposition of figures.
II Rosso helped to make Abraham. The commission was
given jointly to the two sculptors in March 1421, and the
statue was finished, with unusual expedition, by November
of the same year. The hand of Rosso cannot be easily
detected except in the drapery, which differs a good deal
from Donatello's. The latter must have been chiefly re-
sponsible for the grouping and wholly so for the fine head
of Abraham.

Drapery Rosso's drapery was apt to be treated in rather
an(i a small way with a number of little folds.

Donatello, on the other hand, often tended
to the opposite extreme, and in the Campanile figures
we see the clothes hanging about the prophets in such
ample lines that the Zuccone and Jeremiah are over-
weighted with togas which look like heavy blankets.
Habbakuk and the Baptist are much more skilfully draped,
deference being shown to the anatomy. "To make drapery
merely natural," said Sir Joshua Reynolds, " is a mecha-
nical operation to which neither genius nor taste are
required : whereas it requires the nicest judgment to dis-
pose the drapery so that the folds have an easy communi-
cation, and gracefully follow each other with such natural

32 DONATELLO

negligence as to look like the effect of chance, and
at the same time show the figure under it to the utmost
advantage.*" * The sculptors of the fifteenth century did
not find it so easy to make drapery look purely natural,
and we are often confronted by cases where they failed in
this respect. It arose partly from a belief that drapery
was nothing more than an accessory, partly also from
their ignorance of what was so fully realised by the Greeks,
that there can be very little grace in a draped figure unless
there are the elements of beauty below. Another comment
suggested by Donatello's early work in marble is that he
was not quite certain how to model or dispose the hands.
They are often unduly big ; Michael Angelo started with
the same mistake : witness his David and the Madonna on
the Stairs. It was a mistake soon rectified in either case.
But till late in life Donatello never quite succeeded in
giving nerve or occupation to his hands. St. Mark,
St. Peter, and St. John all have a book in their left hands,
but none of them hold the book ; it has no weight, the
hand shows no grip and has no sense of possession.
Neither did Donatello always know where to put the
hands, giving them the shy and self-conscious positions
affected by the schoolboy. The Bargello David is a case
in point. His hands are idle, they have really nothing to
do, and their position is arbitrary in consequence. It is
all a descent from the Gothic, where we find much that
is inharmonious and paradoxical, and a frequent lack
of concord between the component parts. St. George,
standing erect in his niche, holds the shield in front of
him, its point resting on the ground. But, notwithstand-
ing the great progress made by Donatello in modelling
* Discourses, 1778, p. 116.

MINOR WORKS FOR THE CATHEDRAL 33

these hands — (so much indeed that one might almost
suspect the bigger hands of contemporary statues to be
faithful portraits of bigger hands) — one feels that the
shield does not owe its upright position to the constraint
of the hands. They do not reflect the outward pressure of
the heavy shield, which could almost be removed without
making it necessary to modify their functions or position. It
was reserved for Michael Angelo to achieve the unity of pur-
pose and knowledge needed in portraying the human hand.
He was the first among Italian sculptors to render the relation
of the hand to the wrist, the wrist to the forearm, and thence
to the shoulder and body. In the fifteenth century nobody
fully understood the sequence of muscles which correlates
every particle of the limb, and Donatello could not avoid
the halting and inconclusive outcome of his inexperience.

Minor There remain a few minor works for the Cathe-

Works (Jral which require notice. In October 1421 an
°r , e, . unfinished figure by CiufFagni was handed over
to Donatello and II Rosso. It is probable
that Dr. Semper is correct in thinking that this may
be the statue on the East side of the Cathedral hitherto
ascribed to Niccolo d"Arezzo, though it can hardly be the
missing Joshua. We have here a middle-aged man with a
long beard, his head inclined forward and supported
by his upraised hand with its forefinger extended.
Donatello was fond of youth, but not less of middle age.
With all their power these prophets are middle-aged men
who would walk slowly and whose gesture would be
fraught with mature dignity. Donatello did not limit
to the very young or the very old the privilege of seeing

34 DONATELLO

visions and dreaming dreams. Two other statues by
Donatello have perished. These are Colossi,* ordered
probably between 1420 and 1425, and made of brick
covered with stucco or some other kind of plaster. They
stood outside the church, on the buttress pillars between
the apsidal chapels. One of them was on the north side,
as an early description mentions the " Gig-ante sopra la
Annuntiata,v 'j- that is above the Annunciation on the
Mandorla door. The perishable material of these statues
was selected, no doubt, owing to the difficulty and expense
of securing huge monoliths of marble. In this case
one must regret their loss, as the distance from which they
would be seen would amply justify their heroic dimensions.
But the idea of Colossi, which originated in Egypt
and the East, is to astonish, and to make the impression
through the agency of bulk. The David by Michael
Angelo is great in spite of its unwieldiness. Michael
Angelo himself was under no illusions about these Colossi.
His letter criticising the proposal to erect a colossal statue
of the Pope on the Piazza of San Lorenzo is in itself
a delightful piece of humour, and ridiculed the conceit
with such pungency that the project was abandoned.
Finally, Donatello made two busts of prophets for the
Mandorla door. The commission is previous to May 1422,
when it is noted that Donatello was to receive six golden
florins for his work. They are profile heads carved in
relief upon triangular pieces of marble, which fill two
congested architectural corners. They look like the result
of a whim, and at first sight one would think they
were ordered late in the history of the door to supplement

* They were standing as late as 1768. Baldinucci, p. 79.
t Memoriale, 1510.

OR SAN MICHELE, SS. PETER AND MARK 35

or replace something unsatisfactory. But this is not the
case. Half corbel and half decoration, they are curious
things : one shows a young man, the other an older
bearded man. Both have long hair drawn back by a
fillet, and in each case one hand is placed across the
breast. They have quite a classical look, and are the least
interesting as well as the least noticeable of the numerous
sculptures made for the Cathedral by Donatello. The
Domopera evidently appreciated his talent. To this day,
besides these busts and the two small prophets, there
survive at least nine marble figures made for the Duomo,
some of them well over life size. There were also the
Colossi, and it will be seen later on that the Domopera
gave him further commissions for bronze doors, Cantoria,
altar and stained glass; he also was employed as an
architectural expert. Years of DonatehVs life were spent
on the embellishment of Santa Maria del Fiore, a gigantic
task which he shared with his greatest predecessors and
his most able contemporaries. The task, indeed, was never
fully accomplished. The Campanile is not crowned by the
spire destined for it by Giotto : the facade has perished and
the interior is marred by the errors of subsequent genera-
tions. But the Cathedral of Florence must nevertheless take
high rank among the most stately churches of Christendom.

Or San From the earliest times there used to be a church
Michele, dedicated to St. Michael, which stood within the
d St orto, the garden named after the saint. The
Mark. church was, however, removed in the thirteenth

century and was replaced by an open loggia,
which was used for a corn market and store. In the following

$6 DONATELLO

century the open arches of the loggia were built up, again
making a church of the building, in which a venerated
Madonna, for which Orcagra made the tabernacle, was pre-
served. The companies and merchant guilds of Florence
undertook to present statues to decorate the external niches
of the building. Besides Donatello, Ghiberti, Verrochio,
Gian Bologna and Nanni di Banco were employed; and there
are also some admirable medallions by Luca della Robbia.
Donatello made four statues — St. Peter, St. Mark, St. Louis
and St. George. He was to have made St. Phillip as well,
but the shoemakers who ordered the statue could not afford
to pay DonatehVs price and the work was entrusted to
Nanni di Banco. Two only of DonatehVs statues are left
at Or San Michele, the St. Louis being now in Santa Croce,
while the St. George has been placed in the Bargello. All
these statues were put into niches of which the base is not
more than eight feet from the ground, and being intended
to be seen at a short distance are carved with greater
attention to detail and finish than is the case with the
prophets on the Campanile. St. Peter is probably the
earliest in date, having been made, j udging from stylistic
grounds, between 1407 and 1412. This statue shows a
doubt and hesitation which did not affect Donatello when
making the little prophets for the Mandorla door. The
head is commonplace and inexpressive ; the pose is dull,
and the drapery with its crimped edges ignores the right
leg. There is, however, nothing blameworthy in the statue,
but, on the other hand, there is nothing showing promise
or deserving praise. Had it been made by one of the
macchinisti of the time it would have lived in decent
obscurity without provoking comment. In fact the statue
does not owe its appearance in critical discussions to its

ST. MARK

OR SAN MICHELE

OR SAN MICHELE, SS. PETER AND MARK 87

own merits, but to the later achievement of the sculptor.
Thus only can one explain Bocchi's opinion that " living
man could not display truer deportment than we find in
the St. Peter. " * One of the figures from the Cathedral
facade now in the Louvre, an apostle or doctor of the
Church, shows whence Donatello derived his prosy idea,
though the St. Peter is treated in a less archaic manner.
The St. Mark is much more successful : there is conviction
as well as vigour and greater skill. Michael Angelo
exclaimed that nobody could disbelieve the Gospel when
preached by a saint whose countenance is honesty itself.
The very drapery — il prudente costume e religioso — t was
held to contribute to Michael Angelo's praise. The grave
and kindly face, devout and holy, % together with a certain
homeliness of attitude, give the St. Mark a character which
would endear him to all. He would not inspire awe like
the St. John or indifference like St. Peter. He is a very
simple, lovable person whose rebuke would be gentle and
whose counsel would be wise. In 1408 the Linaiuoli, the
guild of linen-weavers, gave their order to select the marble,
and in 1411 the commission was given to Donatello, having
been previously given to Niccolo d'Arezzo, who himself
became one of Donatello's guarantors. The work had to
be finished within eighteen months, and the heavy statue
was to be placed in the niche at the sculptor's own risk.
The statement made by Vasari that Brunellesco co-operated
on the St. Mark is not borne out by the official documents.
It is interesting to note that the guild gave Donatello
the height of the figure, leaving him to select the corre-
sponding proportions. The statue was to be gilded and

* Cinelli ed., p. 66. t Bocchi, 1765 ed., p. 128.

+ Spira il volto divozione e Santitd, Cinelli, p. 66.

38 DONATELLO

decorated.* A further commission was given to two stone-
masons for the niche, which was to be copied from that of
Ghiberti,s St. Stephen. These niches have been a good deal
altered in recent times, and the statues are in consequence
less suited to their environment than was formerly the case.
Judging from the plates in Lasinio's book, the accuracy
of which has not been contested, it appears that the
niches of St. Eligius and St. Mark have been made more
shallow, while the crozier of the former and the key in
St. Peter's hand are not shown at all, and must be modern
restorations.

St. Louis. The St. Louis is made of bronze. The reputa-
tion of this admirable figure has been prejudiced
by a ridiculous bit of gossip seriously recorded by Vasari,
to the effect that, having been reproached for making a
clumsy figure, Donatello replied that he had done so with
set purpose to mark the folly of the man who exchanged
the crown for a friar's habit. Vasari had to enliven his
biographies by anecdotes, and their authenticity was not
always without reproach. In view of his immense services
to the history of art one will gladly forgive these pleasan-
tries ; but it is deplorable when they are solemnly quoted
as infallible. One author says : " . . . . impossible a
guardare quel goffo e disgraziato San Lodovico senza
sentire una stretta al cuore."" This is preposterous. The
statue has faults, but they do not spring from organic
error. The Bishop is overweighted with his thick vest-
ments, and his mitre is rather too broad for the head ; the
left hand, moreover, is big and Donatellesque. But the
* Gualandi, "Memorie," Series 4, p. 106.

ST. GEORGE 39

statue, now placed high above the great door of Santa
Croce, is seen under most unfavourable conditions, and
would look infinitely better in the low niche of Or San
Michele. Its proportions would then appear less stumpy,
and we would then be captivated by the beauty of the
face. It has real " beauty " ; the hackneyed and misused
term can only be properly applied to Donatello's work in
very rare cases, of which this is one. The face itself is
taken from some model, which could be idealised to suit a
definite conception, and in which the pure and symmetrical
lines are harmonised with admirable feeling. Every feature
is made to correspond, interrelated by some secret necessary
to the art of portraiture. The broad brow and the calm
eyes looking upwards are in relation with the delicately
chiselled nose and mouth, while the right hand, which is
outstretched in giving the blessing, is rendered with
infinite sentiment and grace. St. Louis, in short, deserves
high commendation, as, in spite of errors, it achieves
something to which Donatello seldom aspired ; and it has
the further interest of being his earliest figure in bronze, a
material in which some of his most renowned works were
executed. The whole question of Donatello's share in the
actual casting will be considered at a later stage. It will
be enough to say at this point that the St. Louis, which
was probably finished about 1425, was cast with the
assistance of Michelozzo.

St. George. The St. George is the most famous of Donatello's

statues, and is generally called his masterpiece.

The marble original has now been taken into the Museum,

and a bronze cast replaces it at Or San Michele. The cause

40 DONATJELLO

of this transfer is understood to be a fear that the statue
would be ruined by exposure, although one would think
that this would apply still more to the exquisite relief,
which remains in situ, though unprotected by the niche.
In the side-lighted Bargello, the St. George is crowded
into a shallow niche (with plenty of highly correct detail)
and is seen to the utmost disadvantage ; but no incon-
gruity of surroundings, no false relations of light can
destroy the profound impression left by this statue, which
was probably completed about 1 416, in Donatello's thirtieth
year. Vasari was enthusiastic in its praise. Bocchi wrote
a whole book about it,* in which we might expect to find
valuable information ; but the interest of this ecstatic
eulogy is limited. Bocchi gives no dates, facts or autho-
rities; nothing to which modern students can turn for
accurate or specific knowledge of Donatello. Cinelli says
the St. George was held equal to the rarest sculpture of
Rome,f and well it might be. The St. George was made
for the Guild of Armourers; he is, of course, wearing
armour, and the armour fits him, clothes him. It is not
the clumsy inelastic stuff which must have prevented so
many soldiers from moving a limb or mounting a horse.
In this case the lithe and muscular frame is free and full
of movement, quite unimpeded by the defensive plates of
steel. He stands upright, his legs rather apart, and the
shield in front of him, otherwise he is quite unarmed ; the
St. George in the niche is alert and watchful : in the bas-
relief he manfully slays the dragon. The head is bare and
the throat uncovered ; the face is full of confidence and
the pride of generous strength, but with no vanity or self-

* " Eccelenza della Statua del San Giorgio di Donatello," 1571.
t Bellezze, 1677, p. 67.

ST. GEORGE

IN NICHE ON OR SAN M1CHELE

ST. GEORGE 41

consciousness. Fearless simplicity is his chief attribute,
though in itself simplicity is no title to greatness : with
Donatello, Sophocles and Dante would be excluded from
any category of greatness based on simplicity alone. St.
George has that earnest and outspoken simplicity with
which the mediaeval world invested its heroes ; he springs
from the chivalry of the early days of Christian martyrdom,
the greatest period of Christian faith. Greek art had no
crusader or knight-errant, and had to be content with
Harmodius and Aristogeiton. Even the Perseus legend,
which in so many ways reminds one of St. George, was far
less appreciated as an incident by classical art than by the
Renaissance ; and even then not until patron and artist
were growing tired of St. George. M. Reymond has
pointed out the relation of Donatello's statue to its superb
analogue, St. Theodore of Chartres Cathedral. " Cest le
souvenir de tout un monde qui disparaitr* Physically it
may be so. The age of chivalry may be passed in so far
that the prancing steed and captive Princess belong to
remote times which may never recur. But St. George and
St. Theodore were not merely born of legend and fairy
tale; their spirit may survive in conditions which,
although less romantic and picturesque, may still preserve
intact the essential qualities of the soldier-saint of primitive
times. The influence of the St. George upon contem-
porary art seems to have been small. The Mocenigo tomb,
which has already been mentioned, has a figure on the
sarcophagus obviously copied from the St. George; and
elsewhere in this extremely curious example of plagiarism
we find other figures suggested by Donatello's statues.
The little figure in the Palazzo Publico at Pistoja is again
* " La Sculpture Florentine," vol. ii. p. 91.

42 DONATELLO

an early bit of piracy. In the courtyard of the Palazzo
Quaratesi in Florence, built by Brunellesco between 1425
and 1430, an early version of the head of St. George was
placed in one of the circular panels above the pillars. It
is without intrinsic importance, being probably a cast, but
it shows how early the statue was appreciated. A more
important cast is that of the bas-relief now in London,
which has a special interest from having been taken before
the original had suffered two or three rather grievous
blows.* Verrochio made a drawing of the St. George, f
and Mantegna introduced a similar figure into his picture
of St. James being led to execution.^ But Donatello's
influence cannot be measured by the effect of St. George.
In this particular case his work did not challenge competi-
tion ; its perfection was too consummate to be of service
except to the copyist. In some ways it spoke the last
word; closed an episode in the history of art — i<rxaT°s
rov iSlov yevovg.

Donatello The relation of St. George and other Italian
and Gothic works of this period, both in sculpture and
painting, to the Gothic art of France cannot
be ignored, although no adequate explanation has yet been
given. St. George, the Baptists of the Campanile and in
Rome, and the marble David are intensely Franco-Gothic,
and precisely what one would expect to find in France.
The technical and physical resemblance between the two
schools may, of course, be a coincidence ; it may be purely
superficial. But St. Theodore might well take his place

* Victoria and Albert Museum, 7607, 1861. t Uffizzi, frame 49.
J Eremitani, Padua, about 1448-50.

ST. GEORGE

BARGELLO

DONATELLO AND GOTHIC ART 43

outside Or San Michele, while the St. George (in spite
of the difference in date) would be in complete ethical
harmony with the statues on the portals of Chartres. Even
if they cannot be analysed, the phenomena must be stated.
Donatello may have spontaneously returned to the prin-
ciples which underlay the creation of the great statuary of
France, the country of all others where a tremendous school
had flourished. But what these fundamental principles
were it is impossible to determine. It is true there had
always been agencies at work which must have familiarised
Italy with French thought and ideas. From the time of
the dominant French influence in Sicily down to the Papal
exile in France — which ended actually while Donatello
was working on these statues, one portion or another of the
two countries had been frequently brought into contact.
The Cistercians, for instance, had been among the most
persistent propagators of Gothic architecture in Italy,
though nearly all their churches (of which the ground-plans
are sometimes identical with those of French buildings)
are situated in remote country districts of Italy, and being
inaccessible are little known or studied nowadays. France,
however, was herself full of Italian teachers and church-
men, who may have brought back Northern ideas of art,
for they certainly left small traces of their influence on the
French until later on ; their presence, at any rate, records
intercourse between the two countries. A concrete example
of the relation between the two national arts is afforded
by the fact that Michelozzo was the son of a Burgundian
who settled in Florence. Michelozzo was some years
younger than Donatello, and it is therefore quite out of
the question to assume that the St. George could have
been due to his influence : he was too young to give

44 DONATELLO

Donatello more than technical assistance. In this con-
nection one must remember that French Gothic, though
manifested in its architecture, was of deeper application, and
did not confine its spirit to the statuary made for the tall
elongated lines of its cathedrals. What we call Gothic
pervaded everything, and was not solely based on physical
forms. Indeed, whatever may be the debt of Italian sculp-
ture to French influence, the Gothic architecture of Italy
excluded some of the chief principles of the French
builders. It was much more liberal and more fond of light
and air. Speaking of the exaggerated type of Gothic
architecture, in which everything is heightened and
thinned, Renan asks what would have happened to Giotto
if he had been told to paint his frescoes in churches from
which flat spaces had entirely disappeared. " Once we
have exhausted the grand idea of infinity which springs
from its unity, we realise the shortcomings of this egoistic
and jealous architecture, which only exists for itself and
its own ends, regnant dans le desert.'1'' * The churches of
Umbria and Tuscany were as frames in which space was
provided for all the arts ; where fresco and sculpture could
be welcomed with ample scope for their free and unen-
cumbered display. Donatello was never hampered or
crowded by the architecture of Florence ; he was never
obliged, like his predecessors in Picardy and Champagne,
to accommodate the gesture and attitude of his statue to
stereotyped positions dictated by the architect. His
opportunity was proportionately greater, and it only serves
to enhance our admiration for the French sculptors. In
spite of difficulties not of their own making, they were
able to create, with a coarser material and in a less favour-
* "Melanges d'Histoire," p. 248.

DONATELLO AND GOTHIC ART 45

able climate, what was perhaps the highest achievement
ever attained by monumental sculpture. The Italians
soon came to distrust Gothic architecture. It was never
quite indigenous, and they were afraid of this " German "
transalpine art. Vasari attacks " Questa maledizione di
jabbrkhe" with their " tabernacolini Tun sopra Valtro, . . .
che hanno ammorbato il mondo."* One would expect the
denunciation of Milizia to be still more severe. But he
admits that "fratante manstruositd Varchitettura gottica ha
alcune bellezzeT\ Elsewhere mentioning the architect of
the Florentine Cathedral (while regretting how long the
corrotto gusto survived), he says, " In questo architetto si
vede qualche barlume di buona architettura, come di pittura
in Cimabue suo contemporaneo.^l He detects some glimmer
of good architecture. Sir Joshua Reynolds was cautious :
" Under the rudeness of Gothic essays, the artist will find
original, rational, and even sublime inventions.'" § It
should be remembered that the word Tedesca, as applied
to Gothic art, meant more than German, and could be
almost translated by Northern. Italians from the lakes
and the Valtellina were called Tedeschi, and Italy herself
was inhabited by different peoples who were constantly at
war, and who did not always understand each other's dialects.
Dante said the number of variations was countless. ||
Alberti, who lived north of the Apennines during his boy-
hood, took lessons in Tuscan before returning to Florence.
The word Forestiere, now meaning foreigner, was applied

* Introduction, i. 122. t "Vitade' Architetti," 53.

X Ibid. 151. § "Discourses," 1778, p. 237.

|| " Qua propter si primas et secundaria^ et subsecundarias vulgaris
Ytalie variationes calculare velimus, in hoc minimo mundi angulo, non
solum ad millenam loquele variationem venire contigerit, sed etiam at
magis ultra."— De Vulg. Eloq. Lib., I., cap. x. § 8.

46 DONATELLO

in those days to people living outside the province, some-
times even to those living outside the town. Thus we
have a record of the cost of making a provisional altar to
display Donatello1s work at Padua — "per demonstrar el
desegno aijbrestieri."* No final definition of Gothic art, of
the rnaniera tedesca is possible. Some of its component
parts have been enumerated : rigidity, grotesque, natur-
alism, and so forth ; but the definition is incomplete,
cataloguing the effects without analysing their cause.
Whether Donatello was influenced by the ultimate cause
or not, he certainly assimilated some of the effects. The
most obvious example of the Gothic feeling which per-
meated this child of the Renaissance, is his naturalistic
portrait-statues. Donatello found the form, some passing
face or figure in the street, and rapidly impressed it with
his ideal. Raffaelle found his ideal, and waited for the
bodily form wherewith to clothe it. " In the absence of
good judges and handsome women " — that is to say, models,
he paused, as he said in one of his letters to Castiglione.
One feels instinctively that with his Gothic bias Donatello
would not have minded. He did not ask for applause,
and at the period of St. George classical ideas had not
introduced the professional artist's model. Life was still
adequate, and the only model was the subject in hand.
The increasing discovery of classical statuary and learning
made the later sculptors distrust their own interpretation
of the bodily form, which varied from the primitive ex-
amples. Thus they lost conviction, believing the ideal of
the classicals to surpass the real of their own day. The
result was Bandinelli and Montorsoli, whose world was
inhabited by pompous fictions. They neither attained the
* 23, iv. 1448.

THE CRUCIFIX AND ANNUNCIATION 47

high character of the great classical artists nor the single-
minded purpose of Donatello. Their ideal was based on
the unrealities of the Baroque.

The Donatello loved to characterise : in one respect

Crucifix oniy djd he typify. Where there was most cha-
... racter there was often least beauty. This is illus-
trated by two works in Santa Croce, the Christ
on the Cross and the Annunciation. They differ in date,
material, and conception, but may be considered together.
As to the exact date of the former many opinions have been
expressed. Vasari places it about 1401, Manetti about 1405,
Schmarsow 1410, Cavalucci 1416, Bode 1431, Marcel
Reymond 1430-40. It is quite obvious that the crucifix
is the product of rather a timid and uncertain technique,
and does not show the verve and decision which Donatello
acquired so soon. It is made of olive wood, and is covered
by a shiny brown paint which may conceal a good deal of
detailed carving. The work is sober and decorous, and not
marred by any breach of good taste. It is in no sense
remarkable, and has nothing special to connect it with
Donatello. Its notoriety springs from a long and rather
inconsequent story, which says that, having made his Christ
in rivalry with Brunellesco, who was occupied on a similar
work, Donatello was so much saddened at the superiority
of the other crucifix that he exclaimed : " You make the
Christ while I can only make a peasant : a te e conceduto
fare i Crtiti, ed a me i contadini* Brunellesco's crucifix,^
now hidden behind a portentous array of candles, is even

* Vasari, iii. 247.

t In the Capella Gondi, Santa Maria Novella.

48 DONATELLO

less attractive than that in Santa Croce. Brunellesco
was the aristocrat, the builder of haughty palaces for
haughty men, and may have really thought his cold and
correct idea superior to Donatello's peasant. To have
thought of taking a contadino for his type (disappointing
as it was to Donatello) was in itself a suggestive and far-
reaching departure from the earlier treatment of the
subject. In the fourteenth century Christ on the Cross
had been treated with more reserve and in a less natural-
istic fashion. The traditional idea disappeared after these
two Christs, which are among the earliest of their kind,
afterwards produced all over Italy in such numbers. As
time went on the figure of Christ received more emphasis,
until it became the vehicle for exhibiting those painful
aspects of death from which no divine message of resurrec-
tion could be inferred. The big crucifix ascribed to
Michelozzo shows how far exaggeration could be carried.*
The opened mouth, the piteous expression, the clots of
blood falling from the wounds, combine to make a figure
which is repellent, and which lost all justification, from the
fact that this tortured dying man shows no conviction of
divine life to come. Donatello's bronze crucifix at Padua,
made years afterwards, showed that he never forgot that
a dying Christ must retain to the last the impress of power
and superhuman origin. In the conflict of drama and
beauty, Donatello allowed drama to gain the upper hand.
But the Annunciation would suggest a different answer,
for here we find what is clearly a sustained effort to secure
beauty. The Annunciation is a large relief, in which the
angel and the Virgin are placed within an elaborately
carved frame, while on the cornice above there are six
* In San Giorgio Maggiore, Venice.

ANNUNCIATION

SANTA CROCE, FLORENCE

THE CRUCIFIX AND ANNUNCIATION 49

children holding garlands. Its date has been the subject
of even more discussion than that of the Crucifix,* and the
conflict of opinion has been so keen that the intrinsic
merits of this remarkable work have been sometimes over-
looked. The date is, of course, important for the classifica-
tion of Donatello"s work, but it is a pity when the attention
of the critic is monopolised by minor problems. Milizia,
when in doubt about the date of Alberti's birth, did not
go too far in saying " disgrazia grande per chi si trova la sua
Jelicita nelle date." The Annunciation was erected by the
Cavalcanti family, and the old theory that it was ordered
to commemorate their share in the victory over Pisa in
1406 has been upheld by the presence on the lower frieze
of a winged wreath, an emblem of victory. The object of
the donor is conjectural : we know nothing about it ; and
the association of wings and a wreath is found elsewhere in
Donatello's work.f Moreover, the rich Renaissance decora-
tion is quite sufficient to demonstrate that the work must
be much later than 1406, though whether immediately
before or after the second Roman visit must be founded on
hypothesis. The precise date of the particular decoration
is too nebular to permit any exact statement on the subject.
There was never any line of demarcation between one
school and another. One can find Gothic ideas long after
the Renaissance had established its principles,! while

* Borghini, Donatello's earliest work. Semper, 1406. Schmarsow,
1412. Bode, before the second journey to Rome in 1433. Reymond,

1435-

t E.g., on the Or San Michele niche, round the Trinity. Verrochio
also used it on his sketch model for the Forteguerri tomb, Victoria and
Albert Museum, No. 7599, 1861.

t E.g., Pacifico tomb about 1438 and the Francesco Foscari tomb
about 1457, both in the Frari.

50 DONATELLO

the period of transition lasted so long, especially in
the smaller towns, that the old and new schools often
flourished concurrently. This relief is made of Pietra
Serena, of a delicate bluish tint, very charming to work
in, according to Cellini, though without the durability
needed for statues placed out of doors.* It has been
enriched with a most lavish hand and there is no part
of the work without sumptuous decoration. The base,
with the central wreath, is flanked by the Cavalcanti
arms : above them rise two rectangular shafts enclosing
the relief on either side. These columns are carved with a
fretwork of leaves, and their capitals are formed of
strongly chiselled masks of a classical type, like those
on the Or San Michele niche. Above the shafts comes the
plinth, which has a peculiar egg and dart moulding, in its
way ugly, and finally the whole thing is crowned with
a bow-shaped arch, upon which the six terra cotta Putti
are placed, two at either extremity and the other pair
lying along the curved space in the centre ;f the panelled
background and the throne are covered with arabesques.
But this intricate wealth of decoration does not distract
attention from the main figures. The Virgin has just risen
from the chair, part of her dress still resting on the seat.
Her face and feet turn in different directions, thus giving
a dualism to the movement, an impression of surprise
which is in itself a tour &e force. But there is nothing
bizarre or far-fetched, and the general idea one receives
is that we have a momentary vision of the scene: we
intercept the message which is well rendered by the pose

* "Due Trattati di Benvenuto Cellini," ed. Carlo Milanesi, 1857.
Ch. 6 on marble,
t Cf. Putti on the Roman Tabernacle.

THE CRUCIFIX AND ANNUNCIATION 51

of the angel, while its reception is acknowleged by the
startled gesture of the Virgin. " E stupendo Vartifizto.*
The scheme is what one would expect from Luca della
Robbia. Nothing of the kind reappears in Donatello's
work, and the attainment of beauty as such is also beyond
the sphere of his usual ambition. Indeed, so widely does
the Annunciation differ from our notions about the artist,
that it has been recently suggested that Donatello was
assisted in the work : while some people doubt the attribu-
tion altogether. The idea that Michelozzo should have
done some of the actual carving may be well or ill
founded ; in any case, no tangible argument has been
advanced to support the idea. Donatello,s authorship
is vouched for by Albertini, who wrote long before Vasari,
and whose notice about the works of art in Florence is of
great value.f But we have no standard of comparison,
and Donatello himself had to strike out a new line for his
new theme. The internal evidence in favour of Donatello
must therefore be sought in the accessories ; and in archi-
tectural details which occur elsewhere,^ such as the big
and somewhat incontinent hands, the typical putti, and
the rather heavy drapery. To this we may add the
authority of early tradition, the originality and strength
of treatment, and finally the practical impossibility of
suggesting any alternative sculptor.

* Bocchi, p. 316.

t " Memoriale di molte statue e pitture della citti di Firenze," 1510.

J Or San Michele niche, San Lorenzo Evangelists.

52 DONATELLO

Martelli, Tradition says that Ruberto Martelli was the
David and earliest of Donatello's patrons. So far as we know,
Donatello's there were two RUDertos : the elder was seventy-
three at the time of Donatello's birth, and must
therefore have been a nonagenarian before his patronage
could be effectively exercised ; the other was twenty-two
years younger than the sculptor, whom he could not have
helped as a young man. But there is no question about
the interest shown by the family in Donatello's work. The
David and the St. John, together with a portrait-bust and
the coat of arms, still show their practical appreciation of
his work and Donatello's gratitude to the family. Vasari
is the first to mention these works, and it must be
remarked that Albertini, who paid great attention to
Donatello, mentions nothing but antique sculpture in
the Martelli palace. The David and the St. John Baptist
are both in marble, and were probably made between
1415 and 1425. The David, which was always prized
by the family, is shown in the background of Bronzino's
portrait of Ugolino Martelli.* It was then standing in the
courtyard of the palace, but was taken indoors in 1802 per
intemperias. The statue is not altogether a success. Its
allure is good : but the anatomy is feminine, the type
is soft and yielding ; the attitude is not spontaneous ; and
the head of Goliath, tucked uncomfortable between the
feet, is poor. There is a bronze statuette in Berlin which
has been considered a study for this figure, though it is
most unlikely that Donatello himself would have taken
the trouble to make bronze versions of his preparatory
studies. The work, however, is in all probability by
Donatello, and most of the faults in the marble statue

* In the Berlin Gallery.

DONATELLO'S TECHNIQUE 53

being corrected, it may be later than the Martelli figure,
from which it also varies in several particulars. The
statuette is full of life and vigour, and the David is a
sturdy shepherd-boy who might well engage a lion or
a bear. In one respect the Martelli figure is of great
importance. It is unfinished — the only unfinished marble
we have of the master, and it gives an insight into
the methods he employed. It is fortunate that we have
some means of understanding how Donatello gained his
ends, although this statue does not show him at his
best ; indeed it may have been abandoned because it
did not reach his expectations. However, we have nothing
else to judge by. The first criticism suggested by the
David is that Donatello betrays the great effort it cost
him. Like the unfinished Faith by Mino da Fiesole,* it is
laboured and experimental. They set to work hoping that
later stages would enable them to rectify any error or
miscalculation, but both found they had gone too far.
The material would permit no such thing, and with
all their skill one sees that the blocks of marble did
not unfold the statues which lay hidden within. As
hewers of stone, Donatello and Mino cannot compare with
Michael Angelo. Jacopo della Quercia alone had some-
thing of his genius of material. Nobody left more
"unfinished'" work than Michael Angelo. The Victory,
the bust of Brutus, the Madonna and Child,f to mention a
few out of many, show clearly what his system was. In the
statue of Victory we see the three stages of development
or completion. The statue is in the stone, grows out of it.
The marble seems to be as soft as soap, and Michael
Angelo simply peels off" successive strata, apparently
* Berlin Museum. t All three in Bargello.

54 DONATELLO

extracting a statue without the smallest effort. The three
grades are respectively shown in the rough-hewn head
of the crouching figure, then in the head of the triumphant
youth above him, finally in his completed torso. But each
stage is finished relatively. Completion is relative to dis-
tance; the Brutus is finished or unfinished according to our
standpoint, physical or aesthetic. Moreover, the treatment
is not partial or piecemeal; the statue was in the marble from
the beginning, and is an entity from its initial stage: in many
ways each stage is equally fine. The paradox of Michael
Angel o's technique is that his abozzo is really a finished study.
The Victory also shows how the deep folds of drapery are
bored preparatory to being carved, in order that the chisel
might meet less resistance in the narrow spaces; this is also
the case in the Martelli David. As a technical adjunct boring
was very useful, but only as a process. When employed
as a mechanical device to represent the hair of the head,
we get the Roman Empress disguised as a sponge or
a honeycomb. These tricks reveal much more than pure
technicalities of art. Gainsborough's habit of using paint
brushes four or five feet long throws a flood of light upon
theory and practice alike. There is, however, another
work, possibly by Donatello himself, which gives no
insight into anything but technical methods, but which is
none the less important. This is the large Madonna and
Child surrounded by angels, belonging to Signor Bardini
of Florence. It is unhappily a complete wreck, five heads,
including the Child's, having been broken away. It is a
relief in stucco, modelled, not cast, and is closely allied
with a group of Madonnas to which reference is made
hereafter.* We can see precisely how this relief was made.
* See p. 185.

DONATELLO'S TECHNIQUE 55

The stucco adheres to a strong canvas, which in its turn
is nailed on to a wooden panel. The background, also
much injured, is decorated with mosaic and geometrical
patterns of glass, now dim and opaque with age. The
relief must have been of signal merit. Complete it
would have rivalled the polychrome Madonna of the
Louvre : as a fragment it is quite sufficient to prove that
the Piot Madonna, in the same museum, is not authentic.
One more trick of the sculptor remains to be noticed.
Vasari and Bocchi say that Donatello, recognising the
value of his work, grouped his figures so that the limbs
and drapery should offer few protruding angles, in order
to minimise the danger of fracture. It was his insurance
against the fragility of the stone : when working in
bronze such precautions would be less necessary. It is
quite true that in the larger figures there is a marked
restraint in this respect, while in his bas-reliefs, where the
danger was less, the tendency to raise the arms above the
head is often exaggerated. But too much stress should
not be laid upon this explanation : it is hard to believe
that Donatello would have let so crucial a matter be
governed by such a consideration. Speaking generally,
Donatello was neither more nor less restrictive than his
Florentine contemporaries, and it was only at a later
period that the isolated statue received perfect freedom,
such as that in the Cellini Perseus, or the Mercury by
Gian Bologna, or Bernini's work in marble.

56 DONATELLO

Early Another important statue in the Martelli

Figures of palace is that of St. John the Baptist. Besides
being the earliest patron of Florence, St. John
was the titular saint of every Baptistery in the land. This
accounts for the frequency with which we find his statues
and scenes from his life, particularly in Tuscany. With
Donatello he was to some extent a speciality, and we can
almost trace the sculptor's evolution in his presentment
of the Baptist, beginning with the chivalrous figure on
the Campanile and ending with the haggard ascetic of
Venice. We have St. John as a child in the Bargello, as a
boy in Rome, as a stripling in the Martelli palace. On
the bell-tower he is grown up, in the Frari he is growing
older, and at Siena he is shown as old as Biblical history
would permit. The St. John in the Casa Martelli, oltra
tutti singolare* was so highly prized that it was made an
heirloom, with penalties for such members of the family
who disposed of it. This St. John is a link between the
Giovannino and the mature prophet. He is, as it were,
dazed, and sets forth upon his errand with open-mouthed
wonder. He has a strain of melancholy, and seems rather
weakly and hesitating. But there is no attempt after
emaciation. The limbs are well made, and as sturdy as
one would expect, in view of the unformed lines of the
model : the hands also are good. As regards the face, one
notices that the nose and mouth are rather crooked, and
that the eyes diverge : not, indeed, that these defects are
really displeasing, since they are what one sometimes
finds in living youth. Another Baptist which has hitherto

* Bocchi, 23. Like the David, it used to live out of doors, until in
1755 Nicolaus Martelli "in aedes suas transtulit." Its base dates from
1794.

SAN GIOVAXNIXO
PALAZZO KARTELL!, FLORENCE

EARLY FIGURES OF ST. JOHN 57

escaped attention is the small marble figure, about four
feet high, which stands in a niche over the sacristy door
of San Giovanni Fiorentino in Rome. It was placed
there a few years ago, when, owing to the prevalent mania
of rebuilding, it became necessary to demolish the little
oratory on the Corso which belonged to the Mother Church
close by. The statue was scarcely seen in its old home :
how it got there is unknown. The church itself was not
founded by the Florentines until after Donatello's death, and
this statue looks as if it had been made before Donatello's
visit to Rome in 1433. But its authenticity cannot be
questioned. We have the same type as in the Martelli
Baptist, with something of the Franco-Gothic sentiment.
This St. John is rather younger, a Giovannino, his thin lithe
figure draped with the camel-hair tunic which ends above
the knees. Hanging over the left shoulder is a long piece
of drapery, falling to the ground behind him, and giving
support to the marble, just as in the other Baptist. We
have the open mouth, the curly hair and the broad nostrils :
in every way it is a typical work of the sculptor. There
are two other early Baptists, both in the Bargello. The
little relief in Pietra Serena* is a delightful rendering of
gentle boyhood. The modelling shows Donatello's mas-
terful treatment of the soft flesh and the tender muscles
beneath it. Everything is subordinated to his object of
showing real boyhood with all the charm of its im-
perfections. The head is shown in profile, thus enabling
us to judge the precise nature of all the features, each
one of which bears the imprint of callow moibidezza.

* It was acquired for nine zechins in 1784. Madame Andre has a
version in stucco, on rather a larger scale. A marble version from
the Strawberry Hill Collection now belongs to Sir Charles Dilke, M.P.

58 DONATELLO

Even the hair has the dainty qualities of childhood : it
has the texture of silk. It is a striking contrast to the
life-sized Baptist who has just reached manhood. We
see a St. John walking out into the desert. He looks
downward to the scroll in his hand, trudging forward
with a hesitating gait, — but only hesitating because he is
not sure of his foothold, so deeply is he absorbed in reading.
It is a triumph of concentration. Donatello has enlisted
every agency that could intensify the oblivion of the world
around him. It is from this aloofness that the figure leaves
a detached and inhospitable impression. One feels in-
stinctively that this St. John would be friendless, for he
has nothing to offer, and asks no sympathy. There is no
room for anybody else in his career, and nobody can share
his labours or mitigate his privations. In short, there is no
link between him and the spectator. Unless we interpret
the statue in this manner, it loses all interest — it never
had any beauty — and the St. John becomes a tiresome
person with a pedantic and ill-balanced mind. But
Donatello can only have meant to teach the lesson of
concentrated unity of purpose, which is the chief if not
the only characteristic of this St. John. Technically the
work is admirable. The singular care with which the
limbs are modelled, especially the feet and hands, is note-
worthy : while the muscular system, the prominent spinal
cord, and the pectoral bones are rendered with an ex-
actitude which leads one to suppose Donatello reproduced
all the peculiarities of his model. It has been said that
Michelozzo helped Donatello on the ground that certain
details reappear on the Aragazzi monument. The argu-
ment is speculative, and would perhaps gain by being
inverted, — by pointing out that when making the Aragazzi

ST. JOHN BAPTIST, MARBLE

BARGELLO

DONATELLO AS ARCHITECT AND PAINTER 59

figures, Michelozzo, the lesser man, was influenced by
Donatello, the greater.

Donatello Fully as Donatello realised the unity of the arts,
as Arcbi- we cannot claim him as a universal genius, like

+ rtrt+ Aft/1

p . . Leonardo or Michael Angelo, who combined

the art of literature with plastic, pictorial and
architectural distinction. But at the same time Donatello
did not confine himself to sculpture. He was a member
of the Guild of St. Luke : he designed a stained- glass
window for the Cathedral : his opinion on building the
Cupola was constantly invited, and he made a number
of marble works, such as niches, fountains, galleries
and tombs, into which the pursuit of architecture and
construction was bound to enter. Moreover, his back-
grounds were usually suggested by architectural motives.
Donatello joined the painters1 guild of St. Luke in 1412,
and in a document of this year he is called Pfctor*
There is a great variety in the names and qualifications
given to artists during the fifteenth century. In the first
edition of the Lives, Vasari calls Ghiberti a painter.
Pisano, the medallist, signed himself Pictor. Lastrajuolo,
or stone-fitter, is applied to Nanni di Banco.f Giovanni
Nani was called Tagliapietra^ Donatello is also called
M armor aio ) picchiapietre^ and woodcarver.|| In the com-
mission from the Orvieto Cathedral for a bronze Baptist he
is comprehensively described as " intagliatorem jigurarum,

* Domopera archives, 12, viii. , 1412. t Ibid., 31, xii., 1407.

% Padua, 3, iv., 1443.

§ When working at Pisa in 1427. See Centofanti, p. 4.

|j Commission for bronze Baptist for Ancona, 1422.

60 DONATELLO

magistrum lapidum atque intagliatorem figurarum in ligno
et eocwiium magistrum omnium trajectorum? * Finally,
like Ciuffagni,f he is called aurifex, goldsmith.J Cellini
mentions DonatehVs success in painting,§ and Gauricus,
who wrote early in the sixteenth century, says that the
favourite maxim inculcated by Donatello to his pupils
was "designate" — " Draw : that is the whole foundation of
sculpture.1" I The only pictorial work that has survived
is the great stained-glass Coronation of the Virgin in the
Duomo. Ghiberti submitted a competitive cartoon and
the Domopera had to settle which was " pulchrius et
Jumorabilius pro ecclesia^ DonatehVs design was accepted,^
and the actual glazing was carried out by Bernardo
Francesco in eighteen months.** The background is a
plain blue sky, and the two great figures are the centre of
a warm and harmonious composition. The window stands
well among its fellows as regards colour and design, but
does not help us to solve difficult problems connected with
Donatello's drawings. Numbers have been attributed to
him on insufficient foundation.ff The fact is that, notwith-

* Contract in Orvieto archives, 10, ii., 1423.

t Domopera, 2, ix., 1429. % Ibid. 18, iii., 1426.

§ " Due Trattati," ch. xii.

|| Pomponius Gauricus, " De Sculptura," 1504, p. b, iii.

IT April 1434. ** See American Journal of Arch., June 1900.

ft The so-called St. George in the Royal Library at Windsor has
been determined by Mr. R. Holmes to be Perugino's study for the
St. Michael in the National Gallery triptych. In the Uffizzi several
pen-and-ink drawings are attributed to Donatello. The four eagles,
the group of three peasants, the two figures seen from behind (Frame 5,
No. 181), and the candlestick (Frame 7, No. 61 s.), are nondescript
studies in which no specific sign of Donatello appears. The five
winged Puiti (Frame 7, No. 40 f.) and the two studies of the Madonna
(Frame 7, No. 38 f.) are more Donatellesque, but they show the
niggling touch of some draughtsman who tried to make a sketch by

DRAWINGS BY DONATELLO 61

standing the explicit statements of Borghini and Vasari
that Donatello and Michael Angelo were comparable in
draughtsmanship, we have no authenticated work through
which to make our inductions. A large and important scene
of the Flagellation in the Uffizzi,* placed within a compli-
cated architectural framework, and painted in green wash,
has some later Renaissance features, but recalls Donatello's
compositions. In the same collection are two extremely
curious pen-and-ink drawings which give variants of
Donatello's tomb of John XXIII. in the Baptistery. The
first of them (No. 660) shows the Pope in his tiara, whereas
on the tomb this symbol of the Papacy occupies a sub-
ordinate place. The Charity below carries children,
another variant from the tomb itself. The second study
(No. 661) gives the effigy of a bareheaded knight in full
armour lying to the left, and the basal figures also differ from
those on the actual tomb. These drawings are certainly of
the fifteenth century, and even if not directly traceable to
Donatello himself, are important from their relation to the

mere indications with his pen. There is also a study in brown wash of
the Baptistery Magdalen : probably made from, and not for, the statue.
The Louvre has an ink sketch (No. 2225, Reynolds and His De la Salle
Collections) of the three Maries at the Tomb, or perhaps a fragment of
a Crucifixion, with a fourth figure, cowled like a monk. It is a gaunt
composition, made with very strong lines. It may be noted that the
eyes are roughly suggested by circles, a mannerism which recurs in
sereral drawings ascribed to Donatello. This was also a trick of
Baldassare Peruzzi (Sketch-Book, Siena Library, p. 13, &c). In the
British Museum there is an Apostle holding a book (No. i860, 6. 13. 31),
with a Donatellesque hand and forearm ; also a Lamentation over the
dead Christ (No. 1862, 7. 2. 189). Both are interesting drawings, but
the positive evidence of Donatello's authorship is nil. Mr. Gathorne
Hardy's drawing, which has been ascribed to Donatello, is really by
Mantegna, a capital study for one of the frescoes in the Eremitani.
* Uffizzi, Frame 6, No. 6347 f.

62 DONATELLO

great tomb of the Pope, for which Donatello was respon-
sible. But we have no right to say that even these are
Donatello's own work. In fact, drawings on paper by
Donatello would seem inherently improbable. Although
he almost drew in marble when working in stiacciato,
the lowest kind of relief, he was essentially a modeller,
rather than a draughtsman. Leonardo was just the
reverse; Michael Angelo was both, but with him sculp-
ture was the art. Donatello had small sense of surface
or silhouette, and we would not expect him to commit
his ideas to paper, just as Nollekens,* who drew so
badly that he finally gave up drawing, and limited him-
self to modelling instead — turning the clay round and
round and observing it from different aspects, thus employ-
ing a tactile in place of a pictorial medium. Can ova also
trusted chiefly to the plastic sense to create the form. But
Donatello must nevertheless have used pen and ink to
sketch the tombs, the galleries, the Roman tabernacle, and
similar works. It is unfortunate that none of his studies
can be identified. There is, however, one genuine sketch
by Donatello, but it is a sketch in clay. The London
Panel f was made late in life, when Donatello left a con-
siderable share to his assistants. It is therefore a valuable
document, showing Donatello's system as regards his own
preliminary studies and the amount of finishing he would
leave to pupils. We see his astonishing plastic facility, and
the ease with which he could improvise by a few curves,
depressions and prominences so complex a theme as the

* See Life by J. T. Smith, 1828.

t Victoria and Albert Museum, No. 7619, 1861. This sketch, which
appears to have been made for the Forzori family, has been mistaken
for a study for the San Lorenzo pulpit.

CLAY SKETCH OF CRUCIFIXION AND FLAGELLATION

LONDON

THE OR SAN MICHELE NICHE 63

Flagellation, or Christ on the Cross. It is a marvel of
dexterity.

Sculpture relies upon the contour, architecture upon the
line. The distinction is vital, and were it not for the
number and importance of the exceptions, from Michael
Angelo down to Alfred Stevens, one would think that the
sculptor-architect would be an anomaly. In describing
the pursuits of Donatello and Brunellesco during their
first visit to Rome, Manetti says that the former was
engrossed by his plastic researches, " senza mai aprire gli
occhi alia architettura^ It is difficult to believe that
Donatello had no eyes for architecture. There are several
reasons to show that later on he gave some attention to
its study. Like the Roman Tabernacle, the Niche on
Or San Michele * is without any Gothic details. Albertini
mentions Donatello as its sole author, but it is probable
that Michelozzo, who helped on the statue of St. Louis,
was also associated with its niche. It is a notable work,
designed without much regard to harmony between
various orders of architecture, but making a very rich
and pleasing whole. It is decorated with some admirable
reliefs. On the base are winged putti carrying a wreath ;
in the spandrils above the arch are two more. The upper
frieze has also winged cherubs1 heads, six of them with
swags of fruit and foliage, all of exceptional charm and
vivacity. The motive of wings recurs in the large
triangular space at the top ; flanking the magnificent
Trinity, three grave and majestic heads, which though

* The niche was completed about 1424-5. There is a drawing of it
in Vettorio Ghiberti's Note-book, p. 70. Landucci, in his "Diario
Fiorentino," says that Verrochio's group was placed in it on June 21,
1483.

64 DONATELLO

united are kept distinct, and though similar in type are full
of individual character. This little relief, placed rather
high, and discountenanced by the bronze group below, is a
memorable achievement of the early fifteenth century and
heralds the advent of the power and solemnity, the Terri-
bilita of Michael Angelo. Donatello^ aptitude for archi-
tectural setting is also illustrated by the choristers1 galleries
in the Cathedral and San Lorenzo. The former must be
dealt with in detail when considering Donatello's treatment
of childhood. As an architectural work it shows how the
sculptor employed decorative adjuncts such as mosaic and
majolica * to set off the white marble ; he also added deep
maroon slabs of porphyry and bronze heads, thus combin-
ing various arts and materials. Having no sculpture, the
Cantoria of San Lorenzo is perhaps more important in this
connection, as it is purely constructive, while its condition is
intact : the Cathedral gallery having been rebuilt on rather
conjectural lines. In San Lorenzo we find the same ideas
and peculiarities, such as the odd egg and dart moulding
which reappears on the Annunciation. The colour effects
are obtained by porphyry and inlaid marbles. But we
see how much Donatello trusted to sculpture, and how
indifferently he fared without it. This gallery does
not retain one's attention. There is a stiffness about
it, almost a monotony, and it looks more like the
fragment of a balcony than a Cantoria, for there is
no marked terminal motive to complete and enclose it
at either end. Two gateways have been ascribed to
Donatello, but there is nothing either in their architecture
or the treatment of their heraldic decoration, which is

* Cf. Payments to Andrea Moscatello, for painted and glazed terra-
cotta for the Paduan altar. May 1449.

NICHE OF OR SAN MICHELE

THE GROUP BY VERROCCHIO

MODEL FOR THE FLORENTINE CUPOLA 65

distinctive of the sculptor.* There can be no doubt that
Donatello was employed as architect by the Chapter of
Sanf Antonio at Padua,+ and his love of buildings is
constantly shown in the background of his reliefs. But the
strongest testimony to his architectural skill is derived
from the fact that he was commissioned in 1416 to
make a model for the then imfinished cupola of the
Cathedral at Florence. Brunellesco and Nanni di Banco
also received similar orders. Brunellesco alone understood
the immense difficulty of the task, and in the next year he
announced his return to Rome for further research. In
1418 the sum of two hundred gold florins was offered
for the best model, and in 1419 Ghiberti, Nanni di Banco,
Donatello and Brunellesco all received payments for
models. Donatello's was made of brick. Ultimately the
work was entrusted to Brunellesco, who overcame the
ignorance and intrigues which he encountered from
all sides, his two staunch friends being Donatello and
Luca del la Robbia. As to the nature of Donatello's
models we know nothing; it is, however, clear that his
opinion was at one time considered among the best
available on a problem which required knowledge of
engineering. As a military engineer Donatello was a
failure. He was sent in 1429 with other artists to
construct a huge dam outside the besieged town of Lucca,
in order to flood or isolate the city. The amateur and
dilettante of the Renaissance found a rare opportunity
in warfare ; and this passion for war and its preparations

* From the Residenza dell' arte degli Albergatori, and that of the
Rigattieri of Florence, figured on plates xii. and xv. of Carocci's
" Ricordi del Mercato Vecchio," 1887.

t Cf. Payments for work on " Archi de la balcond, de lo lavoriero de
la + ," i.e., the crociera of the church, March 30 and April it, 1444.

66 DONATELLO

occurs frequently among these early artists. Leonardo
designed scores of military engines. Francesco di Giorgio
has left a whole bookful of such sketches, in one of which
he anticipates the torpedo-boat.* So, too, Michael
Angelo took his share in erecting fortifications, though
he did not fritter away so much time on experiments as
some of his contemporaries. Donate] lo and his colleagues
did not even leave us plans to compensate for their
ignominious failure. One is struck by the confidence
of these Renaissance people, not only in art but in every
walk of life. They were so sure of success, that failure
came to be regarded as surprising, and very unprofessional.
Michael Angelo had no conception of possible failure.
He embarked upon the colossal statue of the Pope when
quite inexperienced in casting ; he was the first to taunt
Leonardo on his failure to make the equestrian statue.
When somebody failed, the work was handed over to
another man, who was expected to succeed. Thus Ciuffagni
had to abandon an unpromising statue, quod male et inepte
ipsam laboravitrf and the David of Michael Angelo was
made from a block of marble upon which Agostino di
Duccio had already made fruitless attempts.

Two fountains are ascribed to Donatello, made respec-
tively for the Pazzi and Medici families. The former
now belongs to Signor Bardini. It is a fine bold thing,
but the figure and centrepiece are unfortunately missing,
The marble is coated with the delicate patina of water :
its decoration is rather nondescript, but there is no reason
to suppose that Rossellino1st/b«te mentioned by Albertini
was the only one possessed by the Great House of the
Pazzi. The Medici fountain, now in the Pitti Palace, is
* Siena Library. t Domopera, 7, vii. 1433.

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P - -&&I

^^v- ■ m^H

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^^H ^-^JBhH

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W'^'km

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F ' ■

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a^l^^H

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THE MARZOCCO

BARGELLO

DECORATIVE HERALDRY 67

rather larger, being nearly eight feet high. The decora-
tion is opulent, and one could not date these florid ideas
before Donatello's later years. The boy at the top
dragging along a swan is Donatellesque, but with man-
nerisms to which we are unaccustomed. The work is not
convincing as regards his authorship. The marble Lavabo
in the sacristy of San Lorenzo is also a doubtful piece of
sculpture. It has been attributed to Verrochio, Donatello
and Rossellino. It has least affinity to Donatello. The
detailed attention paid by the sculptor to the floral decora-
tion, and the fussy manner in which the whole thing is
overcrowded, as if the artist were afraid of simplicity,
suggest the hand of Rossellino, to whom Albertini, the
first writer on the subject, has ascribed it. Donatello
made the Marzocco, the emblematic Lion of the Floren-
tines, and it has therefore been assumed that he also made
its marble pedestal. This is held to be contemporary with
the niche of Or San Michele. So far as the architectural
and decorative lines are concerned this is not impossible,
though the early Renaissance motives long retained their
popularity. There is, however, one detail showing that
the base must be at least twenty-five years older than the
niche. The arms of the various quarters of Florence are
carved upon the frieze of the base. Among these shields
we notice one bearing " on a field semee of fleurs-de-lys,
a label, above all a bendlet dexter."" These are not
Italian arms. They were granted in 1452 to Jean, Comte
de Dunois, an illegitimate son of the Due d'Orleans. His
coat had previously borne the bendlet sinister, but this
was officially turned into a bendlet dexter, to show that
the King had been pleased to legitimise him in recognition
of his services to Joan of Arc. Jean was a contemporary

68 DONATELLO

of Donatello, and the coat may have been placed among
the other shields as a compliment to France. Certainly no
quarter of a town could use a mark of cadency below a
bendlet, and Florence was more careful than most Italian
towns to be precise in her heraldry. Numbers of stone
shields bearing the arms of Florentine families were placed
upon the palace walls. When high up and protected by
the broad eaves they have survived ; but, as a rule, those
which were exposed to the weather, carved as they usually
were in soft stone, have perished.* Bocchi mentions that
Donatello made coats-of-arms for the Becchi, the Boni
and the Pazzi. Others have been ascribed to him, namely,
the Stemma of the Arte della Seta, from the Via di
Capaccio, that on the Gianfigliazzi Palace, the shield
inside the courtyard of the Palazzo Davanzati, and that
on the Palazzo Quaratesi, all in Florence. These have
been much repaired, and in some cases almost entirely
renewed. The shield on the eastern side of the old
Martelli Palace (in the Via de1 Martelli, No. 9) is,
perhaps, coeval with Donatello, but it is insignificant
beside the shield preserved inside the present palace.
This coat-of-arms, which is coloured according to the
correct metals and tinctures, is one of the finest extant
specimens of decorative heraldry. It is a winged griffin
rampant, with the tail and hindlegs of a lion. The
shield is supported by the stone figure of a retainer, cut
in very deep relief, as the achievement was to be seen
from the street below. But the shield itself rivets one's
attention. This griffin can be classed with the Stryge, or

* Cf. those high up on the Loggia de' Lanzi, or in other Tuscan
towns where the climate was not more severe, but where there was less
cash or inclination to replace the shields which were worn away.

THE MARTELLI SHIELD

THE MARZOCCO AND MARTELLI SHIELD 69

the Etruscan Chimaera as a classic example of the
fantastic monsters which were used for conventional
purposes, but which were widely believed to exist. It
possesses all the traditional attributes of the griffin. It
is fearless and heartless : its horrible claws strike out to
wound in every direction, and the whole body vibrates
with feline elasticity, as well as the agile movement
of a bird. Regarding it purely as a composition,
we see how admirably Donatello used the space at his
command : his economy of the shield is masterly. It
is occupied at every angle, but nowhere crowded. The
spaces which are left vacant are deliberately contrived to
enhance the effect of the figure. It is the antithesis of the
Marzocco.* The sculptor must have seen lions, but the
Marzocco is not treated in a heraldic spirit, although it
holds the heraldic emblem of Florence, the fleur de lys
Jlorencee. Physically it is unsuccessful, for it has no
spring, there is very little muscle in the thick legs which
look like pillars, and the back is far too broad. But
Donatello is saved by his tact ; he was ostensibly making
the portrait of a lion ; though he gives none of its features,
he gives us all the chief leonine characteristics. He excelled
in imaginary animals, like the Chinese artists who make
admirable dragons, but indifferent tigers.

* The marble original is now in the Bargello, and has been replaced
by a bronze replica which occupies the old site on the Ringhiera of the
Palazzo Pubblico. Lions were popular in Florence. Albertini mentions
an antique porphyry lion in the Casa Capponi, much admired by
Lorenzo de' Medici. Paolo Ucello painted a lion fight for Cosimo.
The curious rhymed chronicle of 1459 describes the lion fights in the
great Piazza ("Rer. It. Script.," ii. 722). Other cases could be quoted.
Donatello also made a stone lion for the courtyard of the house used
by Martin V. during his visit to Florence in 1419-20.

70 DONATELLO

The Siena Siena had planned her Cathedral on so ambi-
Font. tious a scale, that had not the plague reduced

her to penury the Duorao of Florence would have been
completely outrivalled. The Sienese, however, ordered
various works of importance for their Cathedral, and among
these the Font takes a high place. It was entrusted to
Jacopo della Quercia, who had the active assistance of
Donatello and Ghiberti, as well as that of the Turini and
Neroccio, townsmen of his own. Donatello was thus
brought under new influences. He made a relief, a sportello
or little door, two statuettes, and some children, all in
bronze, being helped in the casting by Michelozzo. Jacopo,
who was about ten years older than Donatello, had been
a competitor for the Baptistery gates. He was a man of
immense power, in some ways greater than Donatello ;
never failing to treat his work on broad and massive lines,
and one of the few sculptors whose work can survive
mutilation. The fragments of the Fonte Gaya need no
reconstruction or repair to tell their meaning ; their
statuesque virtues, though sadly mangled, proclaim the
unmistakable touch of genius. But Donatello's person-
ality was not affected by the Sienese artists. Jacopo, it
is true, was constantly absent, being busily engaged at
Bologna, to the acute annoyance of the Sienese, who
ordered him to return forthwith. Jacopo said he would
die rather than disobey, " potius eligeret mori quam non
obedire patrie suce " ; but the political troubles at the
northern town prevented his prompt return. However,
after being fined he got home, was reconciled to the
Chapter, and ultimately received high honours from the
city. His font is an interesting example of transition ;
the base is much more Gothic than the upper part. The

THE SIENA FONT 71

base or font proper is a large hexagonal bason decorated
with six bronze reliefs and a bronze statuette between each
— Faith, Hope, Charity, Justice, Prudence, and Strength.
The reliefs are scenes from the life of the Baptist. From
the centre of the font rises the tall Renaissance tabernacle
with five niches, in which Jacopo placed marble statues of
David and the four major prophets, one of which suggested
the San Petronio of Michael Angelo. A statue of the
Baptist surmounts the entire font. In spite of the number
of people who co-operated with Jacopo, the whole
composition is harmonious. Donatello made the gilded
statuettes of Faith and Hope. The former, looking down-
wards, has something of Sienese severity. Hope is with
upturned countenance, joining her hands in prayer ; charm-
ing alike in her gesture and pose. Two instalments for
these figures are recorded in 1428. The authorities had
been lax in paying for the work, and we have a letter * asking
the Domopera for payment, Donatello and Michelozzo being
rather surprised — " assai maravigliati'" — that the florins
had not arrived. The last of these bronze Virtues, by Goro
di Neroccio, was not placed on the font till 1431. Donatello
also had the commission for the sportello, the bronze door
of the tabernacle. But the authorities were dissatisfied
with the work and returned it to the sculptor, though
indemnifying him for the loss.j* This was in 1434, the
children for the upper cornice having been made from 1428
onwards. The relief, which was ordered in 1421, was finished
some time in 1427. It is Donatello's first relief in bronze,
and his earliest definitive effort to use a complicated archi-
tectural background. The incident is the head of St. John
being presented on the charger by the kneeling executioner.
* g. v. 1427. Milanesi, ii. 134. t Lusini, 28.

72 DONATELLO

Herod starts back dismayed at the sight, suddenly realising
the purport of his action. Two children playing beside
him hurriedly get up ; one sees that in a moment they, too,
will be terror-stricken. Salome watches the scene ; it is very
simple and very dramatic. The bas-relief of St. George
releasing Princess Sabra, the Cleodolinda of Spencer's
Faerie Queen, is treated as an epic, the works having a
connecting bond in the figures of the girls, who closely
resemble each other. Much as one admires the eldn of
St. George slaying the dragon, this bronze relief of Siena
is the finer of the two ; it is more perfect in its way, and
Donatello shows more apt appreciation of the spaces at
his disposal. The Siena plaque, like the marble relief of
the dance of Salome at Lille, to which it is analogous, has
a series of arches vanishing into perspective. They are not
fortuitous buildings, but are used by the sculptor to sub-
divide and multiply the incidents. They give depth to
the scene, adding a sense of the beyond. The Lille relief
has a wonderful background, full of hidden things, remind-
ing one of the mysterious etchings of Piranesi.

Michelozzo For ten years Donatello was associated with
and the Michelozzo,* who began as assistant and finally
T , entered into a partnership which lasted until

1433. The whole subject is obscure, and until
we have a critical biography of Michelozzo his relation
with various men and monuments of the fifteenth century
must remain problematical. Michelozzo has not hitherto
received his due meed of appreciation. As a sculptor and
architect he frequently held a subordinate position, and it
* See "Arch. Storico dell' Arte," 1893, p. 209.

TOMB OF COSCIA, POPE JOHN XXIII.

BAPTISTERY, FLORENCE

MICHELOZZO AND THE COSCIA TOMB 73

has been assumed that he therefore lacked independence and
originality. But the man who was Court architect of the
Medici, and director of the Cathedral building staff, was no
mere hack ; while his sculpture at Milan, Naples, and
Montepulciano show that his plastic abilities were far
from mean. He was a great man with interludes of
smallness. When Donatello required technical help in
casting, Michelozzo was called in. Though Donatello had
worked for Ghiberti on the bronze gates, he was never
quite at home in the science of casting. Gauricus says he
always employed professional help — " nunquam fudit ipse,
campanariorum usus opera semper? * Caldieri cast for him
at Padua. Michelozzo also helped Luca della Robbia in
casting the Sacristy gates which Donatello should have
made ; the commissions which Donatello threw over were
those for work in bronze. The partnership extended over
some of the best years of Donatello's life, and three tombs,
the St. Louis, and the Prato pulpit are among their
joint products. The tombs of Pope John XXIII. in the
Baptistery, that of Aragazzi the Papal Secretary at
Montepulciano, and that of Cardinal Brancacci at Naples,
are noteworthy landmarks in the evolution of sepulchral
monuments, which attained their highest perfection in
Italy. In discussing them it will be seen how fully
Michelozzo shared the responsibilities of Donatello.
Baldassare Coscia, on his election to the Papacy, took
the title of John XXIII. He was deposed by a council
and retired to Florence, where he died in 1418. He
was befriended by the Medici, who erected the monu-

* " De Sculptura," 1504, folio e. 1. On the other hand, the sculptor
Verrochio cast a bell for the Valloinbrosans in 1474, and artillery for
the Venetian Republic.

74 DONATELLO

ment, the last papal tomb outside Rome, to his memory.
"Johannes Quondam Papa XXIII? is inscribed on it,
and it is said that Coscia^ successful rival objected to
this appellation of his predecessor, but the protest went
unheeded. The tomb is remarkable in many ways. Its
construction is most skilful, as it was governed by
the two upright pillars between which the monument
had to be fitted. We have a series of horizontal
lines ; a frieze at the base, then three Virtues ; above
this the effigy, and finally a Madonna beneath a bal-
dachino. Each tier is separated by lines which intersect
the columns at right angles. The task of making a
monument which would not be dwarfed by these huge
plain pillars was not easy. But the tomb, which is deco-
rated with prudent reserve, holds its own. The effigy is
bronze : all the rest is marble. It was probably coloured,
and a drawing in Ghiberti's note-book gives a background
of cherry red, with the figures gilded.* Coscia lies in his
mitre and episcopal robes, his head turned outwards
towards the spectator. The features are admirably
modelled with the firmness and consistency of living
flesh : indeed it is the portrait of a sleeping man, troubled,
perhaps, in his dream. The tomb was made some years
after Coscia,s death, and Donatello has not treated him as
a dead man. The effigy is a contrast to that of Cardinal
Brancacci, where we have the unmistakable lineaments
and fallen features of a corpse. The dusky hue of Coscia's
face should be noticed ; the bronze appears to have been
rubbed with some kind of dark composition, similar in
tone to that employed by Torrigiano. Below the recum-

* Op. cit. p. 70. In this drawing two putti are also shown holding a
shield, above the monument ; this has now disappeared.

MICHELOZZO AND THE COSCIA TOMB 75

bent Pope is the sarcophagus ; two delightful winged boys
hold the cartel on which the epitaph is boldly engraved.
The three marble figures in niches at the base, Faith,
Hope and Charity, belong to a different category. Albertini
says that the bronze is by Donatello, and " li ornamenti
rnarmorei di moi discipidi."" Half a century later, Vasari
says that Donatello made two of them, and that Michelozzo
made the Faith, which is the least successful of the three.
Modern criticism tends to revert to Albertini, assigning
all to Michelozzo, with the presumption that Hope, which
is derived from the Siena statuette, was executed from
Donatello1s design. Certainly the basal figures are
without the brio of Donatello's chisel ; likewise the
Madonna above the effigy, which is vacillating, and may
have been the earliest work of Pagno di Lapo, a man
about whom we have slender authenticated knowledge,
but whom we know to have been well employed in and
around Florence. In any case, we cannot reconcile this
Madonna with Michelozzo1s sculpture. As will be seen
later on, Michelozzo had many faults, but he was seldom
insipid. The Madonna and Saints on the facade of Sant1
Agostino at Montepulciano show that Michelozzo was
a vigorous man. This latter work is certainly by him,
the local tradition connecting it with one Pasquino da
Montepulciano being unfounded. The Coscia tomb is
among the earliest of that composite type which soon
pervaded Italy. At least one other monument was directly
copied from it, that of RafFaello Fulgosio at Padua.
This was made by Giovanni da Pisa, and the sculptor's
conflict between respect for the old model, and his desires
after the new ideas, is apparent in the whole composition.

76 DONATELLO

The In the Denunzia de1 beni of 1427 Donatello

Aragazzi states that he was working with Michelozzo on
the tomb of Bartolommeo Aragazzi, and the
monument has therefore been ascribed to them both. But
recent research has established that, though preparatory
orders were given in that year, a fresh contract was made
two years later, and that Donatello's share in the work was
nil. Michelozzo alone got payment up to 1436 or there-
abouts, when the tomb was completed. Donatello's
influence would, perhaps, have been visible in the design,
but unhappily we can no longer even judge of this, for the
tomb is a wreck, having been broken up to make room for
structural alterations.* Important fragments are pre-
served, scattered about the church ; but the sketch of the
tomb, said to be preserved in the local library, has never
yet been discovered. The monument had ill-fortune from
the very beginning. An amusing letter has come down to
us, pathetic too, for it records the first incident in the
tragedy. Leonardo Aretino writes to Poggio, that when
going home one day he came across a party of men trying
to extricate a wagon which had stuck in the deep ruts.
The oxen were out of breath and the teamsmen out of
temper. Leonardo went up to them and made inquiries.
One of the carters, wiping the sweat from his brow, mut-
tered an imprecation upon poets, past, present and future
(Dii perdant poetas omnes, et qui fuerunt unquam et qui

* The effigy is placed in a niche close to the great door of the
Cathedral, put there "lest the memory of so distinguished a man
should perish ' ' — "Simulacrum ejus diu negkctum, tie tanti viri memoriapeni-
tus deleretur, Politiana pietas hie eollocandum curavit anno MDCCCXV."
The remainder consists of a frieze now incorporated in the high altar,
on either side of which stand two caryatides. The Christ Blessing is
close by. Two bas-reliefs are inserted into pillars opposite the effigy.

THE ARAGAZZI TOMB 77

futuri sunt.) Leonardo, a poet himself, asked what harm
they had done him : and the man simply replied that it
was because this poet, Aragazzi, who was lately dead,
ordered his marble tomb to be taken all the way to
Montepulciano from Rome, where he died ; hence the
trouble. "Hcec est imago ejus quam cernis" said the man,
pointing to the effigy, having incidentally remarked that
Aragazzi was " stultus nempe homo ac ventosus^* Certainly
Aragazzi was not a successful man, and he was addicted to
vanity. In the marble we see a wan melancholy face,
seemingly of one who failed to secure due measure of
public recognition. The monument need not be further
described, except to say that two of the surviving figures
are very remarkable. They probably acted as caryatides,
of which there must have been three, replacing ordinary
columns as supporters of the sarcophagus. They can
hardly be Virtues, for they are obviously muscular men
with curly hair and brawny arms. They are not quite
free from mannerisms : the attitudes, granting that the
bent position were required by their support of the tomb,
are not quite easy or natural. But, in spite of this, they
are really magnificent things, placing their author high
among sculptors of his day.

The The Church of Sant1 Angelo a Nilo at Naples

Brancacci contains the monument of Cardinal Brancacci,

one of the most impressive tombs of this
period. The scheme is a modification of the Coscia tomb.
Instead of the three Virtues in niches at the base, there
are three larger allegorical figures, which are free standing

* " Letters," Florence ed. 1741, vol. ii. 45.

78 DONATELLO

caryatides below the sarcophagus. They are allegorical
figures, perhaps Fates, and correspond with the two some-
what similar statues at Montepulciano. The Cardinal's
effigy lies upon the stone coffin, the face of which has a
bas-relief between heraldic shields. Two angels stand
above the recumbent figure, holding back the curtain
which extends upwards to the next storey, surrounding a
deep lunette in which there is a Madonna between two
Saints. Here the monument should have ended, but it is
surmounted by an ogival arch, flanked by two trumpeting
children and with a central medallion of God the Father.
This topmost tier may have been a subsequent addition.
It overweights the whole monument, introduces a dis-
cordant architectural motive, and is decorated by inferior
sculpture. The Madonna in the lunette is also poor, and
the curtain looks as if it were made of lead. But the
lower portion of the tomb compensates for the faults
above. The caryatides, the bas-relief of the Assumption,
the Cardinal himself and the mourning angels above him,
are all superb in their different ways. Michelozzo may
have been responsible for the architecture, and Pagno di
Lapo for the upper reliefs. Donatello himself made the
priceless relief of the Assumption, also the effigy, and the
two attendants standing above it. The entire tomb is
marble : it was made at Pisa,* close to the inexhaustible
quarries which, being near to the sea, made transport easy
and cheap. From the time of Strabo, the marmor Lunense
had been carried thence to every port of the Peninsula.f

* Donatello worked there for eighteen months. See documents in
Centofanti, p. 4, &c.

t ". . . Lapides albi et discolores ad cceruleum vergente spscie." Strabo,
"Geog.," 1807 ed., I. v. p. 314.

TOMB OF CARDINAL BRANCACCI
NAPLES

THE BRANCACCI TOMB 79

Michelozzo took the tomb to Naples, and perhaps added
the final touches : not, indeed, that the carving is quite
complete, the Cardinal's ear, for instance, being rough-
hewn. Brancacci lies to the left, wearing a mitre on his
head, which is raised on a pillow. The chiselling of the
face is masterly. The features are shown in painful restless
repose. The eyes are sunken and half closed : the lips
are drawn, the brow contracted, and the throat shows all
the tendons and veins which one notices in the Habbakuk,
but which are here relaxed and uncontrolled. It is a death-
mask : a grim and instantaneous likeness of the supreme
moment, when the agony may have passed away, but not
without leaving indelible traces of the crisis. The two
angels look down on the dead prelate. They hold back the
curtain which would conceal the effigy, thus inviting the
spectator into the privacy of the tomb. In some ways
these two angels are among the noblest creations of the
master. They are comparatively small, their position is
subordinate, and they have been repaired by a clumsy
journeyman. Yet they have a majestic solemnity. They
are calm impersonal mourners — not shrouded like the
bowed figures which bear the effigy of the Senechal of
Burgundy.* They stand upright, simply posed and simply
clad guardian angels, absorbed by watching the dead. The
three large figures which support the sarcophagus are by
Michelozzo, and are intimately related to the Aragazzi
caryatides. That on the right has a Burgundian look.
They form a striking group, and their merits are not
appreciated as they should be owing to the excellence of
the sculpture immediately above them.

* Louvre, No. 216. Tomb of Philippe Pot, circa 1480.

80 DONATELLO

Stiacciato. The Assumption of the Virgin occupies the
central position of the tomb. It is a small
panel. The Virgin is seated in a folding-chair which is
familiar in fifteenth-century art. Surrounding her are
angels supporting the clouds which make an oval halo
round her, a mandorla. The cloud, curiously enough, is
very heavy, yielding to the touch, and upheld by the
flying angels, whose hands press their way into it, and bear
their burden with manifest effort. There is none of the
limpid atmosphere which Perugino secured in painting, and
Ghiberti in sculpture. But, on the other hand, the air is
full of drama, presaging an event for which Donatello
thought a placid sky unsuitable. There are seven angels in
all ; the lowest, upon whose head the Virgin rests her foot,
is half Blake and half Michael Angelo. But there are
many other busy little cherubs swimming, climbing, and
flying amidst the interstices of cloudland. The Virgin
herself, draped in easy-flowing material, has folded her
hands, and awaits her entry to Paradise. Her face is the
picture of anxiety and apprehension. The Assumption is
carved in the lowest possible relief, called stiacciato. The
word means depressed or flattened. It is the word with which
Condivi describes the appearance of Michael Angelo's nose
after it had been broken — it was " un poco stiacciato ; non
per natural but by the blow of a certain Torrigiano,
" huomo bestiale e superbo."" * Donatello was fond of this
method of work. We have a fine example in London,f
and his most successful use of stiacciato is on the Roman
Tabernacle made a few years after the Brancacci relief.
Donatello did not invent this style. It had been used in

* " Vita di Michael Angelo," Rome, 1553, p. 49.

f Victoria and Albert Museum, Charge to Peter. See p. 95.

STIACCIATO 81

classical times, though scarcely to the extent of Donatello,
who drew in the marble. The Assyrians also used this low-
relief ; we find the system fully understood in what are
perhaps the most spirited hunting scenes in the world. * In
these we also notice the square and rectangular undercutting
similar to that in many of Donatello's reliefs. Another
specimen of this very low-relief is found in Mr. Quincy
Shaw's marble panel of the Virgin and Child seated among
clouds and surrounded by putti. This has been attributed
to Donatello on good authority,! though it must be re-
marked that the cherubs1 faces show poverty of invention
which might suggest the hand of a weaker man. Moreover,
the cherubs have halos, which is a later development, and
quite contrary to Donatello1s early practice. But the relief
is an interesting composition, and if by Donatello, may be
regarded as the parent of a group which attained popularity-
M. Gustave Dreyfus has a smaller marble variant of great
charm, made by Desiderio. A stucco panel treated in
much the same manner is preserved at Berlin. The Earl
of Wemyss has an early version in repousse silver of high
technical merit. From this point of view nothing is more
instructive than a Madonna and Child at Milan.:}: It is
probably the work of Pierino da Vinci, and is a thin oval
slab of marble carved on either side. One side is unfinished,
and is most valuable as showing the facility with which the
sharp graving tools were employed to incise the marble.
The composition bears a resemblance to the reliefs just
mentioned, and the pose of the two heads is Donatellesque,
but the Child is elongated and ill-drawn. Again, from a

* British Museum, Assyrian Saloon, Nos. 63-6.

t Bode, "Florentiner Bildhauer," p. 119.

X In the Museo Archeologico in the Castello, unnumbered.

82 DONATELLO

technical point of view, a medallion portrait of the late
Lord Lytton shows that artists of our own day have used
stiacciato with perfect.confidence and success.* Donatello was
not always quite consistent in its employment. In the En-
tombment at Padua it is combined with high-relief. He,
no doubt, acted deliberately ; that is to say, he did not
sketch a hand in stiacciato, because he had forgotten to
provide for it in deeper relief. But the result is that the
quality of the different planes is lost, and there are dis-
crepancies in the relative values of distance. The final
outcome of stiacciato is the art of the medallist. It is said
that Donatello made a medal, but nobody has determined
which it is. Michelozzo certainly made one of Bentivoglio,
about 1445.f This admirable art, which reached its per-
fection during Donatello's lifetime, owes something of its
progress to the pioneer of stiacciato.

Tombs of The tomb of Giovanni de' Medici in San Lorenzo
Pecci, js interesting, and has been ascribed to Dona-

r , q+v' tello. There is no documentary authority for
this attribution, and on stylistic grounds it
is untenable.} It is a detached tomb, so common else-
where, but of singular rarity in Italy. The isolated tomb
like this one, like that of Ilaria del Carretto, or that of
Pope Sixtus IV. in St. Peter's, has great advantages over
the tall upright monument applique" to a church wall. The
latter is, however, the ordinary type of the Renaissance.

* By Alfred Gilbert, R. A. , belonging to the present Earl of Lytton.

t See Armand, " Les Medailleurs Italiens," 1887, iii. p. 3.

X Wreaths and putti form its decoration, and though Donatellesque,
they are not by Donatello. This was pointed out as early as 18 19. See
" Monument! Sepolcrali della Toscana," p. 28.

TOMBS OF PECCI, CRIVELLI, AND OTHERS 83

The free-standing tomb can be seen from all aspects and
lights. Although it must be smaller — some of the later
wall-tombs are fifty feet high — the sculptor was obliged to
keep his entire work well within the range of vision, and
had to rely on plastic art alone for success. Much admir-
able sculpture, especially the effigies, has been lost by being
placed too high on some pretentious catafalque in relief
against a wall. The tomb of Giovanni, it is true, though
standing in the centre of the sacristy, is covered by a large
marble slab, which is the priest's table. It throws the
tomb into dark shadow and makes it difficult to see the
carving. There are few tombs of important people upon
which so much trouble has been expended with so little
result. Donatello is also said to have made a tomb for the
Albizzi, but it has perished.* The tomb of Chellini in
San Miniato, which tradition ascribed to Donatello, is
probably the work of Pagno di L&po. The prim and
priggish Cardinal Accaiuoli in the Certosa of Florence
does not suggest Donatello's hand. Though conscientious
and painstaking, the work is without a spark of energy or
conviction. These latter are slab- tombs, flat plates fastened
into the church pavements. We have two authentic tombs
of this character, on both of which Donatello has signed
his name. Had he not done so, we could never have
established his authorship of the marble slab-tomb of
Archdeacon Crivelli in the Church of Ara Coeli at Rome.
It has been trampled by the feet of so many generations,
that all the features have been worn away ; the legend is
wholly effaced in certain parts, and one corner has had to
be restored (though at some early date). But at best it
cannot have compared with Donatello's similar tomb of
* Bocchi, 354.

84 DONATELLO

Bishop Pecci at Siena, and one could quote numerous in-
stances of equally good work by nameless men. There is
one close to the Crivelli marble itself, another in the Pisa
Baptistery, two in Santa Croce, and so forth. This kind
of tomb had to undergo rough usage. Everybody walked
upon it : the deep relief made it a receptacle for mud and
rubbish. The effigy of the deceased, as was probably in-
tended by him, was humbled in the dust : adhesit pavimento.
The slabs got injured, and were often protected by low
tables with squat legs. Later on the slabs were raised
enough to prevent people standing on them, and thus
became like free-standing tombs ; but it only made them
more suitable for the sitting requirements of the congrega-
tion. These sunken tombs, in fact, became a nuisance.
Although they were not carved in the very deep relief like
those one sees in Bavaria, they collected the dirt, and a
papal brief was issued to forbid them — ut in ecclesiis
nihil indecens relinquatur* and the existing slabs were
ordered to be removed. Irretrievable damage must
have resulted from this edict, but fortunately it was
disobeyed in Rome and ignored elsewhere. Nowadays
it has become the custom to place these slabs upright
against the walls, thus preventing further detrition. To
Cavaliere D. Gnoli we owe the preservation of the Crivelli
tomb, which was in danger of complete demolition.-]- By

* Bull., "Cum primum," § 6, "et ut in ecclesiis nihil indecens relinqua-
tur, iidem provideant, ut capscs omnes, et deposita, seu alia cadaverum, conditoria
super terram existentia omnino amoveantur.pro ut alias statutum fuit, et defunc-
torum corpora in tumbis profundis, infra terram collocentur," Bullarium,
1566, vol. iv., part ii., p. 285. For the whole question of the evolution
of these tombs, see Dr. von Lichtenberg's valuable book, ' ' Das Por-
trat an Grabdenkmalen, " Strassburg, 1902.

t See " Archivio Storico dell' Arte," 1888, p. 24, &c.

TOMBS OF PECCI, CRIVELLI, AND OTHERS 85

being embedded in a wall instead of lying in a pavement
this kind of monument, while losing its primitive position,
often gains in appearance. Crivelli, for instance, lies
within an architectural niche. His head rests on a pillow,
the tassels of which fall downwards towards his feet.
When placed against a wall the need for a pillow may
vanish, but the meaning and use of the niche becomes
apparent, while the tassels no longer defy the laws of
gravitation. He becomes a standing figure at once, and the
flying putti above his head assume a rational pose. It has
been suggested that this and similar tomb-plates were
always intended to be placed upright, and that the delicate
ornamentation, of which some traces survive, would never
have been lavished on marble doomed to gradual destruc-
tion. No general rule can be laid down, but undoubtedly
most of these slabs were meant to be recumbent. There
are few cases where some contradiction of emplacement
with pose cannot be detected. But two examples may be
noted where the slabs were clearly intended to be placed
in walls. An unnamed bishop at Bologna lies down, while
at either end of the slab an angel stands, at right angles
to the recumbent figure, holding a pall or curtain over the
dead man.* Signor Bardini also has an analogous marble
effigy of a mitred bishop, about 1430-40, who lies down
while a friar stands behind his head. These slabs were,
therefore, obviously made for insertion in a wall, and they
are quite exceptional. The tomb-plate of Bishop Pecci
in Siena Cathedral is less open to objection on the ground
of incongruity between its position and the Bishop's pose.
It is made of bronze, and is set in the tessellated pavement
of green, white and mauve marble. Technically it is a
* In Santo Stefano, Cortile di Pilato.

86 DONATELLO

triumph. Although the surface is considerably worn, we
have the sense of absolute calm and repose — in striking
contrast to the wearied look of Brancacci. The Bishop
died on March 1, 1426 ; a few days previously he wrote
his will, while he lay dying — " sanus mente licet corpore
languens" — and left careful instructions as to his burial in
an honourable part of the Cathedral and how the exact
cost of his funeral was to be met.* In a way the figure
resembles St. Louis, and Donatello probably had the help
of Michelozzo in the casting. The work itself is extremely
good, and the bronze has the rich colour which one finds
most frequently in the smaller provincial towns where time
is allowed to create its own patina. Donatello was a bold
innovator, and the Tomb of Coscia, though not the parent
of the Renaissance theory of funeral monuments, had
marked influence upon its evolution. From the simple
outdoor tombs placed upon pillars, such as one principally
finds north of the Apennines, there issued a grander idea
which culminated in the monuments of the Scaligers at
Verona. But Donatello reverted to the earlier type of
indoor tomb, and from his day the tendency to treat them
as an integral feature of mural and structural decoration
steadily increased. A host of sculptors filled the Tuscan
churches with those memorials which constitute one of
their chief attractions. These men imbued death with its
most gentle aspect, concealing the tragedy and sombre
meaning of their work with gay arabesques and the most
living and lovable creations of their fancy. The putti,
the bright heraldry, the play of colour, and the opulence
of decoration, often distract one's eye from the effigy of
the dead : and he, too, is often smiling. He may represent
* " Misc. Storica Senese," 1893, p. 30.

TOMB PLATE OF BISHOP PECCI
SIENA CATHEDRAL

EVOLUTION OF THE TOMBS 87

the past : the rest of the tomb is born of the present, and
seldom — exception being made for a group of tombs to
which reference will be made later on* — seldom is there
much regard for the future. The dead at least are not
asked to bury their dead. They lie in state, surrounded
by all that is most young and blithe in life : it is a death
which shows no indifference to the life which is left behind.
With them death is in the midst of life, not life in the
midst of death. Donatello was too severe for the later
Renaissance, and the brilliant sculptors who succeeded
him lost influence in their turn. With the development
of sculpture, which during Michael Angelo's lifetime
acquired a technical skill to which Donatello never aspired,
the tomb became a vehicle for ostentation and display ;
and there was a reaction towards the harsher symbols of
death. Instead of the quiet mourner who really mourns,
we have the strident and professional weeper — a parody of
sorrow. Tier upon tier these prodigious monuments rise*
covering great spaces of wall, decorated with skulls and
skeletons, with Time carrying his scythe, with negro
caryatides, and with apathetic or showy models masque-
rading as the cardinal virtues. The effigy itself is often
perched up so high as to be invisible, or sitting in a
ridiculous posture. " Princes1 images on their tombs,"
says Bosola in Webster's play, " do not lie as they were
wont, seeming to pray up to heaven ; but with their hands
under their cheeks, as if they had died of toothache.'" f
Venice excelled in this rotund and sweltering sculpture.
Yet it cannot be wholly condemned. Though artificial,
theatrical and mundane, its technical supremacy cannot be

* See p. 171.

t From the Duchess of Malfi, quoted in Syraonds' "Fine Arts," p. 114.

88 DONATELLO

denied. The amazing ease with which these huge monu-
ments are contrived, and the absolute sense of mastery
shown by the sculptor over the material are qualities too
rare to be lightly overlooked. Whatever we may think
of the artist, our admiration is commanded by the crafts-
man.

The Second During the year 1433, when Florence enjoyed
Visit to the luxury of driving Cosimo de' Medici into
exile, Donatello went to Rome in order to
advise Simone Ghini about the tomb of Pope Martin V.
— temporum suorum Jilicitas, as the epitaph says.* This
visit to Rome, which is not contested, like the visit thirty
years earlier, did not last long, and certainly did not divert
Donatello from the line he had struck out. At this
moment the native art of Rome was colourless. A genera-
tion later it became classical, and then lapsed into deca-
dence. The number of influences at work was far smaller
than would at first be imagined. It is generally assumed
that Rome was the home of classical sculpture. But early
in the fifteenth century Rome must have presented a scene
of desolation. The city had long been a quarry. Under
Vespasian the Senate had to pass a decree against the
demolition of buildings for the purpose of getting the
stone, f Rome was plundered by her emperors. She was

* It is a bronze slab, admirably wrought and preserved, in S. Giovanni
Laterano. Were it not for an exuberance of decoration, one might say
that Donatello was responsible for it; the main lines certainly harmonise
with his work. Simone Ghini was mistaken by Vasari for Donatello's
somewhat problematical brother Simone.

t See Codex. Just. Leg. 2. Cod. de sedif. privatis. A similar law at
Herculaneum had forbidden people to make more money by breaking

THE SECOND VISIT TO ROME 89

looted by Alaric, Genseric, Wittig and Totila in days when
much of her art remained in situ. She was plundered by
her Popes. Statues were used as missiles ; her marble was
exported all over the world — to the Cathedrals of Orvieto
and Pisa, even to the Abbey Church of Westminster.
Suger, trying to get marble columns for his church, looked
longingly at those in the baths of Diocletian, a natural and
obvious source, though happily he stole them elsewhere.*
The vandalism proceeded at an incredible pace. Pius II.
issued a Bull in 1462 to check it ; in 1472 Sixtus IV.
issued another. Pius, however, quarried largely between
the Capitol and the Colosseum. The Forum was treated
as an ordinary quarry which was let out on contract,
subject to a rental equivalent to one-third of the output.
But in 1433, and still more during the first visit, there was
comparatively little sculpture which would lead Donatello
to classical ideas. Poggio, writing just before Donatello's
second visit, says he sees almost nothing to remind him of
the ancient city.f He speaks of a statue with a complete
head as if that were very remarkable — almost the only
statue he mentions at all. Ghiberti describes two or three
antique statues with such enthusiasm that one concludes
he was familiar with very few. In fact, before the great
digging movement which enthralled the Renaissance,
antique sculpture was rare. But little of Poggio^ collec-
tion came from Rome : Even Lorenzo de1 Medici got
most of his from the provinces. A century later Sabba

up a house than they paid for the house itself, under penalty of being
fined double the original outlay. This shows the extent of speculative
destruction. Reinesius, " Synt. Inscript. Antiq.," 475, No. 2.

* See his Libellus in " Rer. Gall. Script.," xiv. 313.

t Nihil fere recognoscat quod prior em urbem reprasentet, in "De Varietate
fortunes urbis Romas. Nov. Thes. Antiq. Rom.," i. 502.

90 DONATELLO

del Castiglione complains of having to buy a Donatello
owing to the difficulty of getting good antiques.*
Rome had been devastated by cupidity and neglect as
much as by fire and sword. "Ruinarum urbis Roma?
description is the title of one of Poggio's books. Alberti
says that in his time he had seen 1200 ruined churches
in the city.f Bramantino made drawings of some of
them. J Pirro Ligorio, an architect of some note, gives
his recipe for making lime from antique statues — so
numerous had they become. But much remained buried
before that time, sotterrate nelle Rovine d 'It alia J§ and
Vasari explains that Brunellesco was delighted with a
classical urn at Cortona, about which Donatello had
told him, because such a thing was rare in those times,
antique objects not having been dug up in such quan-
tities as during his own day.|| But the passion for
classical learning developed quickly, and was followed
by the desire for classical art. Dante had scarcely realised
the art of antiquity, though more was extant in 1300 than
in 1400. Petrarch, who was more sympathetic towards it,
could scarcely translate an elementary inscription. From
the growing desire for knowledge came the search for
tangible relics : but love of classical art was founded on
sentiment and tradition. As regards the sculptors them-
selves, their art was less influenced by antiquity than were

* " Ricordi," 1544. No. 109, p. 51.

t Written about 1450. "De re sedificatoria. " Paris ed. 1553, p. 165.

X Cf. Plate 49 in "Le Rovine di Roma." " Tempio circolare."
Written beside it is " Questo sie uno tempio lo quale e Atiuero (i.e.,che e
presso al Tevere) dove se chauaue li prede antigha mente (i.e., si cavavano le
pietre anticamente).

§ Vasari, " Proemio," i. 212.

|| Cosa allora rara, non essendosi dissotterata quella abbondanza che si e
fatta ne' tempi nostri, i. 203.

CLASSICAL INFLUENCES 91

the arts of poetry, oratory and prose. While Rossellino,
Desiderio, Verrochio and Benedetto da Maiano maintained
their individuality, the indigenous literature of Tuscany
waned. Sculpture retained its freedom longer than the
literary arts, and when the latter recovered their national
character sculpture relapsed in their place into classicism.
From early times sculptors had, of course, learned what
they could from classical exemplars. Niccola Pisano copied
at least four classical motives. There was no plagiarism ;
it was a warm tribute on his part, and at that time a
notable achievement to have copied at all. But the imita-
tion of antiquity was carried to absurd lengths. Ghiberti,
who was a literary man, says that Andrea Pisano lived in
the 410th Olympiad.* But Ghiberti remained a Renais-
sance sculptor, and his classical affectation is less noticeable
in his statues than in his prose. Filippo Strozzi went so
far as to emancipate his favourite slave, a " grande nero? in
his will.j- But Gothic art died hard. The earlier creeds
of art lingered on in the byways, and the Renaissance
was flourishing long before Gothic ideas had completely
perished — that is to say, Renaissance in its widest mean-
ing, that of reincarnated love of art and letters : if inter-
preted narrowly the word loses its deep significance, for
the Renaissance engendered forms which had never existed
before. But it must be remembered that in sculpture
classical ideas preceded classical forms. Averlino, or
Filarete, as a classical whim led him to be called, began the
bronze doors of St. Peters just before Donatello's visit.
They are replete with classical ideas, ignoble and fantastic,
but the art is still Renaissance. Comparatively little

* " 2nd Commentary," in Vasari, I. xxviii.
t Gaye, i. 360.

92 DONATELLO

classical art was then visible, and its infallibility was not
accepted until many years later, when Rome was being
ransacked for her hidden store of antiquities. Statues
were exhumed from every heap of ruins, generally in frag-
ments : not a dozen free-standing marble statues have
come down to us in their pristine condition. The quarry-
men were beset by students and collectors anxious to
obtain inscriptions. Traders in forgeries supplied what
the diggers could not produce. Classical art became a
fetish.* The noble qualities of antiquity were blighted by
the imitators, whose inventive powers were atrophied,
while their skill and knowledge left nothing to be desired.
Excluding the Cosmati, Rome was the mother of no period
or movement of art excepting the Rococo. As for
Donatello himself, he was but slightly influenced by
classical motives. His sojourn in Rome was short, his
time fully occupied ; he was forty-seven years old and had
long passed the most impressionable years of his life. He
was a noted connoisseur, and on more than one occasion
his opinion on a question of classical art was eagerly sought.
But, so far as his own art was concerned, classical influences
count for little. His architectural ideas were only classical
through a Renaissance medium. When a patron gave him
a commission to copy antique gems, he did his task faith-
fully enough, but without zest and with no ultimate
progress in a similar direction. When making a portrait
he would decorate the sitter's helmet or breastplate with
the cameo which actually adorned it. With one exception,

* Cf, the action of the Directory in year vi. of the French Republic.
They ordered the statues looted in Italy to be paraded in Paris — hoping
to find the clue to ancient supremacy. Louis David pointedly observedi
"La vue. . . . formera peut-Stre des savans, des Winckelmann : mais des
artistes, non,"

DONATELLO AND ANTIQUITY 93

classical art must be sought in his detail, and only in the
detail of work upon which the patron^ advice could be
suitably offered and accepted. Donatello may be compared
with the great sculptors of antiquity, but not to the extent
of calling him their descendant. Raffaelle Mengs was
entitled to regret that the other Raffaelle did not live in
the days of Phidias.* Flaxman was justified in expressing
his opinion that some of Donatello's work could be placed
beside the best productions of ancient Greece without
discredit.-]- These obiter dicta do not trespass on the
domain of artistic genealogy. But it is inaccurate to say,
for instance, that the St. George is animated by Greek
nobility,}: since in this statue that quality (whether
derived from Gothic or Renaissance ideals) cannot possibly
have come from a classical source. Baldinucci is on
dangerous ground in speaking of Donatello as " emulando
mirabilmente la perfezione degli antichissimi scultori grecF§
— the writer's acquaintance with archaic Greek sculp-
ture may well have been small ! We need not quarrel
with Gori for calling Donatello the Florentine Praxiteles ;
but he is grossly misleading in his statement that
Donatello took the greatest pains to copy the art of the
ancients.|| Donatello may be the mediaeval complement of
Phidias, but he is not his artistic offspring.

* " Works," 1796, i. 151. t " Lectures," 1838, p. 248.

X Semper, p. 93. § Ed.17 68, p. 74.

|| " Donatellus, qui primum omnium vetustis monumentis mirifice
delectatus est, eaque imitari ac probe exprimere in suis operibus ad-
sidue studuit." — " Dactyliotheca Smithiana," 1768, II. p. cxxvi.

94 DONATELLO

Work at Up till a few years ago the most important
Borne. work Donatello made in Rome was unknown.

We were aware that he had made a tabernacle, but all
record of it was lost, until Herr Schmarsow identified it
in 1886.* It was probably made for the Church of Santa
Maria della Febbre,f and was transported to St. Peter's
when Santa Maria was converted into a sacristy. The
tabernacle is now in the Sacristy of the Canons, surrounded
by sham flowers and tawdry decoration, which reduce its
charms to a minimum. Moreover, the miraculous painting
of the Madonna and Child which fills the centrepiece —
having, perhaps, replaced a metal grille or marble relief, has
been so frequently restored that a discordant element is
introduced. The tabernacle is about six feet high ; it is
made of rather coarse Travestine marble, and in several
parts shows indications of the hand of an assistant. It has
suffered in removal ; there are two places where the work
has been repaired, and the medallion in the lower frieze has
been filled with modern mosaic ; otherwise it is in good
order. It is essentially an architectural work, but the
number of figures introduced has softened the hard lines of
the construction, giving it plenty of life. Four little angels,
rather stumpy and ill-drawn, are sitting on the lower
plinth. Above them rise the main outer columns which
support the upper portion of the tabernacle, and enclose
the central opening, where the picture is now fixed. At
the base of these columns there are two groups of winged
children, three on either side, looking inwards towards the
central feature of the composition. They bend forward
reverently with their hands joined in prayer and adoration

* See Schmarsow, p. 32.

t See " Arch. Storico dell' Arte," 1888, p. 24.

TABERNACLE
st. peter's, rome

WORK AT ROME 95

— admirable children, full of shyness and deference. The
upper part of the tabernacle, supported on very plain cor-
bels, is occupied by a broad relief, at either end of which
stand other winged angels, more boyish and confident than
those below. This relief is, perhaps, Donatello's masterpiece
in stiacciato. It is the Entombment, his first presentment
of those intensely vivid scenes which were so often repro-
duced during his later years. Christ is just being laid in
the tomb by two solemn old men with flowing beards,
St. Joseph and St. Peter. The Virgin kneels as the body is
lowered into the tomb. Behind her is St. Mary Magda-
lene, her arms extended, her hair dishevelled ; scared by
the frenzy of her grief. To the right St. John turns away
with his face buried in his hands. The whole composition
— striking in contrast to the quiet and peaceful figures
below — is treated with caution and reserve. But we detect
the germ of the pulpits of San Lorenzo, where the rough
sketch in clay could transmit all its fire and energy to the
finished bronze. In this case Donatello not only felt the
limitations of the marble, but he was not yet inclined to
take the portrayal of tragedy beyond a certain point. The
moderation of this relief entitles it to higher praise than
we can give to some of his later work. The other panel
in stiacciato made about this time belonged to the Salviati
family.* Technically the carving is inferior to that in
St. Peter's, and it may be that in certain parts, especially,

* Victoria and Albert Museum, No. 7629, 1861. Bocchi says: " Un
quadro di marmo di tnano di Donatello di basso relievo : dove e effigiato quando
da le chiavi Cristo a S. Pietro. Estimata molto da gli artefici questa opera :
la quale per invenzione e rara, e per disegno maravigliosa. Molto e commen-
data lafigura di Cristo, e la prontezza che si scorge nel S. Pietro. E parimente
la Madonna posta in ginocchione, la quale in atto affetuoso ha sembiante mira-
bile e divoto," p. 372.

96 DONATELLO

for instance, round the heads of Christ and one of the
Apostles, the work is unfinished. Christ is seated on the
clouds, treated like those on the Brancacci panel, and
hands the keys to St. Peter. The Apostles stand by, the
Virgin kneels in the foreground, and on the left there are
two angels like those on the tabernacle. Trees are lightly
sketched in, and no halos are employed. The work is dis-
appointing, for it is carved in such extraordinarily low-relief
that parts of it are scarcely recognisable on first inspection ;
the marble is also rather defective. As a composition — and
this can best be judged in the photograph — the Charge to
Peter is admirable. The balance is preserved with skill, while
the figures are grouped in a natural and easy fashion. The
row of Apostles to the left shows a rendering of human
perspective which Mantegna, who liked to make his figures
contribute to the perspective of the architecture around
them, never surpassed. This panel, in spite of Bocchi's
praise, shares one obvious demerit with the relief in St.
Peter's. The Virgin, who kneels with outstretched hands
as she gazes upwards to the Christ, is almost identical with
a figure on the Entombment. She is ugly, with no re-
deeming feature. The pose is awkward, the drapery
graceless, the contour thick, and her face, peering out of
the thick veil, is altogether displeasing. One has no right
to look for beauty in Donatello's statues of adults : cha-
racter is what he gives. But neither does one expect
this kind of vagary. There is great merit in the plaintive
and wistful ugliness of the Zuccone : Here the ugliness is
wanton, and therefore inexcusable. The Crivelli tomb and
the Baptist in San Giovanni Fiorentino have been already
described. There were other products of Donatello's visit
to Rome, but they are now lost. Tradition still maintains

THE MEDICI MEDALLIONS 97

that the wooden Baptist in S. Giovanni Laterano is his work.
But it cannot possibly be by him, though it may be a later
copy of a fifteenth-century original. Curiously enough,
there is another Baptist in the same church which is Dona-
tellesque in character and analogous in some respects to the
St. John at Siena, namely, the large bronze statue signed by
Valadier and dated 1772. Valadier was a professional
copyist, some of his work being in the Louvre. Where he
got the design for this Baptist we do not know ; but it is
certainly not typical of the late eighteenth century. Titi
mentions a head in Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, and a
medallion portrait of Canon Morosini in Santa Maria
Maggiore.* Neither of them can be found.

The The Medici did not remain in exile long, and

Medici Me- their return to Florence marks an epoch in
the artistic as well as the political history of
Tuscany. From this moment the sway of the private
collector and patron began. Gradually the great churches
and corporations ceased giving orders on the grand scale,
for much of the needful decoration was by then completed.
By the middle of the century patronage was almost wholly
vested in the magnates of commerce and politics : if a
chapel were painted or a memorial statue set up, in most
cases the artist worked for the donor, and not for the
church authorities. The monumental type of sculpture
became more rare, brie & brae more common. Well-known

* " Ammaestramento Utile," 1686, p. 141. "Una testa nel deposito a
mano destra delta Porta Maggiore, e scoltura di [Donatello Fiorentino." In
Chapel of Paul V., Sta. M. Maggiore: "In terra in una lapide vi & di
Profilo la figura del Canonico Morosini, opera di Donatello famoso scultore e
architetlo." Ibid. p. 241.

98 DONATELLO

men like Donatello received the old kind of commission
to the end of their lives, while younger men, though
fully occupied, were seldom entrusted with comprehen-
sive orders. Even Michael Angelo was more dependent
on the Pope than upon the Church. Among the earliest
commissions given by the Medici after their return was
an order for marble copies of eight antique gems. These
were placed in the courtyard of their Florentine house,
now called the Palazzo Riccardi. They are colossal in
size, and represent much labour and no profit to art.
Nothing is more suitably reproduced on a cameo than a
good piece of sculpture ; but the engraved gem is the last
source to which sculpture should turn for inspiration.
Donatello had to enlarge what had already been reduced ;
it was like copying a corrupt text. The size of these
medallions accentuates faults which were unnoticed in the
dainty gem. The intaglio of Diomede and the Palladium
(now in Naples) is too small to show the fault which is
so glaring in the marble relief, where Diomede is in a
position which it is impossible for a human being to main-
tain. But the relief is admirably carved : nothing could be
better than the straining sinews of the thigh ; and it is of
interest as being the only one which is related to any other
work of the sculptor. The head of one of the angels in
the Brancacci Assumption is taken from this Diomede or
from some other version of it. A similar treatment is
found in Madame Andre's relief of a young warrior.
It has been pointed out that some of the gems from which
these medallions were made did not come into the Medici
Collections until many years later.* Cosimo may have
owned casts of the originals, or Donatello may have copied
* Molinier, "Les Plaquettes," 1886, p. xxvi.

THE BRONZE DAVID 99

them in Rome, for. they belonged at this time to the Papal
glyptothek, from which they were subsequently bought.
The subjects of these roundels are Ulysses and Athena, a
faun carrying Bacchus, two incidents of Bacchus and
Ariadne, a centaur, Daedalus and Icarus, a prisoner before
his victor, and the Diomede. Gems became very popular
and expensive : a school of engravers grew up who copied,
invented, and forged. Carpaccio introduced them into his
pictures,* and Botticelli used them so freely that they
almost became the ruling element of decoration in the
" Calumny." Gems are incidentally introduced in Dona-
tello^ bust of the so-called Young Gattamelata, and on
Goliath's helmet below the Bronze David. The Medusa
head occurs on the base of the Judith, on the Turin
Sword hilt, and on the armour of General Gattamelata.
So much of Donatello1s work has perished that it is almost
annoying to see how well these Medici medallions are
preserved — the work in which his individuality was allowed
little play, and in which he can have taken no pride.

The According to Vasari, the Bronze David was made

Bronze for Cosimo before the exile of the Medici, and
consequently previous to Donatello1s second
journey to Rome. It was removed from the courtyard of
the palace to the Palazzo Pubblico, where it remained for
many years. Doni mentions it as being there in 1549,f
and soon afterwards it was replaced by Verrochio1s fountain
of the Boy squeezing the Dolphin. It is now in the

* Cf. St. Ursula, Accademia, Venice, No. 574.

t "... una colonna nel mezzo dove e un Davitte di Donatello dignissimo."
Letter to Alberto Lollio, 17. viii. 1549, Bottari, iii. 341.

100 DONATELLO

Bargello. The base has been lost. Albertini says it was
made of variegated marbles.* Vasari says it was a simple
column.f It has been suggested that the marble pillar
now supporting the Judith belonged to the David, but the
David is even less fitted to this ill-conceived and pedantic
shaft than Judith herself. The David soon acquired
popularity ; the French envoy, Pierre de Rohan, wanted
a copy of it. It was certainly a remarkable innovation,
being probably the first free-standing nude statue made
in Italy for a thousand years. There had been countless
nude figures in relief, but the David was intended to be
seen from every side of Cosimo's cortile. There was no
experimental stage with Donatello ; his success was imme-
diate and indeed conclusive. David is a stripling. He
stands over the head of Goliath, a sword in one hand and
a stone in the other, wearing his helmet, a sort of sun-hat
in bronze which is decorated with a chaplet of .leaves ;
below his feet is a wreath of bay. It is a consistent study
in anatomy. The David is perhaps sixteen years old,
agile and supple, with a hand which is big relative to the
forearm, as nature ordains. The back is bony and rather
angular ; the torso is brilliantly wrought, with a purity of
outline and a morbidezza which made the artists in Vasarfs
time believe the figure had been moulded from life. One
might break the statute into half a dozen pieces, and every
fragment would retain its vitality and significance. The
limbs are alert and full of young strength, with plenty
more held in reserve : it is heroic in all respects except
dimension. The face is clear cut, and each feature is

* Giii abasso e Davit di bronzo sopra la colonna fine di marmo variegato.
" Memoriale."
t " Life of Bandinelli," x. 301.

THE BRONZE DAVID

RARGEIXO, FLORENCE

THE BRONZE DAVID 101

rendered with precision. The expression is one of dreamy
contemplation as he looks downwards on the spoils and
proof of conquest. David hath slain his tens of thousands !
Finally the quality of the statue is enhanced by the care
with which the bronze has been chiselled. Goliath's helmet,
and David's greaves, on which the Jleur de lys jlorencde has
been damascened, are decorated with unfailing tact. The
embellishment is in itself a pleasure to the eye, but it is
prudently contained within its legitimate sphere ; for
Donatello would not allow the accessory to invade the
statue itself, which is the chief fault of the rival David
by Verrochio. Donatello's statue marks an epoch in the
study of anatomy. It is a genuine interpretation of a very
perfect piece of humanity ; but his knowledge compared
with that of his successors was empiric. Leonardo's subtle
skill was based upon dissection. Michael Angelo likewise
studied from the human corpse, distasteful as he found the
process. Donatello had no such scientific training : he had
no help from the surgeon or the hospital, hence mistakes ;
his doubt, for instance, about the connection between ribs
and pectoral bones was never resolved. But, notwithstanding
this lack of technical data, the Bronze David has a distinc-
tion which is absent in statues made by far more learned
men. Donatello's intuition supplied what one would not
willingly exchange for the most exact science of the spe-
cialist. The David was an innovation, but the phrase must
be guarded. It was only an innovation so far as it was a
free-standing study from the nude. Nothing is more
misleading than the commonplace that Christianity was
opposed to the representation of the nude in its proper
place. The early Church, no doubt, underwent a prolonged
reaction against all that it might be assumed to connote ;

102 DONATELLO

one might collect many quotations from patristic literature
to this effect. But the very articles of the Christian Creed
militated against the ultimate scorn of the human body :
the doctrine of the Resurrection alone was enough to give
it more sanctity than could be derived from all the poly-
theism of antiquity. The Baptism of Christ, the descent
into Limbo, and the Crucifixion itself, were scenes from
which the use of drapery had to be less or more discarded.
The porches and frontals of Gothic churches abounded in
nude statuary, from scenes in the Garden of Eden down to
the Last Judgment. Abuses crept in, of course, and the
Faith protested against them. The advancing standard of
comfort and, no doubt, a steadily deteriorating climate,
diminished the everyday familiarity with undraped limbs.
Clothes became numerous and more normal ; the artist
came to be regarded as the purveyor of what had ceased to
be of natural occurrence. He was encouraged by the
connoisseur, lay and cleric, who found his literature in
antiquity, and then demanded classical forms in his art.
The nude was arbitrarily employed : there was no biblical
authority for a naked David, and Donatello was therefore
among the first to err in this respect. The taste for this
kind of thing sprang from humanism, and throve with
hellenism, till a counter-reaction came suddenly in the
sixteenth century. Michael Angelo was hotly attacked for
his excessive study from the nude as prejudicial to morals.*
Ammanati wrote an abject apology to the Accademia del
Disegno for the very frank nudity of his statues, f Some of
the work of Bandinelli and Bronzino had to be removed.

• " Due dialogi di Giovanni Andrea Gilio da Fabriano," 1564 ; a tire-
some and discursive tirade.

t 22. viii. 1582. Reprinted in Bottari, ii. 529.

AND CHILDHOOD 103

What was a rational and healthy protest has survived in
grotesque and ill-fitting drapery made of tin — very
negation of propriety. Although needed for biblical
imagery, the nude in Italy was always exotic ; in Greece
it was indigenous. From the time of Homer there had
been a worship of physical perfection. The Palaestra,
the cultivation of athletics in a nation of soldiers, the
religions of the country, with its favourable atmosphere,
climate, and stone, all combined to make the nude a normal
aspect of human life. But it was not the sole inspiration
of their art : in Sparta, where there was most nude there
was least art ; in Italy, when there was worst art there was
most nude.

Donatello Michael Angelo strove to attain the universal
and form. His world was peopled with Titans,

and he realised his ambition of portraying
generic humanity : not, indeed, by making conventional,
but by eliminating everything that was not typical. The
earliest plastic art took clay and moulded the human form ;
the next achievement was to make specific man — the
portrait ; lastly, to achieve what was universal — the type.
The progress was from man, to man in particular, and
ultimately to man in general. There was a final stage
when the typical lost its type without reverting to the
specific, to the portrait. The successors of Michael Angelo
were among the most skilful craftsmen who ever existed ;
but their knowledge only bore the fruit of unreality.
Donatello did not achieve the typical except in his children :
it was only in children that Michael Angelo failed. He
missed this supreme opportunity ; those on the roof of

104 DONATELLO

the Sistine Chapel are solemn and grown old with care :
children without childhood. With Donatello all is
different. His greatness and title to fame largely rest
upon his typical childhood : his sculpture bears eloquent
witness to the closest observation of all its varying and
changeful moods. Others have excelled in this or that
interpretation of child-life : Greuze with his sentimen-
talism, the Dutch painters with their stolidity. In Velas-
quez every child is the scion of some Royal House, in
Murillo they are all beggars. They are too often stupid
in Michelozzo : in Andrea del la Robbia they are always
sweet and winsome ; Pigalle's children know too much.
Donatello alone grasped the whole psychology. He
watched the coming generation, and foresaw all that it
might portend : tragedy and comedy, labour and sorrow,
work and play — plenty of play ; and every problem of
life is reflected and made younger by his chisel. How
far the sculptors of the fifteenth century employed
classical ideas is not easily determined. There was,
however, one classical form which was widely used, namely,
the flying putti holding a wreath or coat-of-arms between
them: we find it on the frieze of the St. Louis niche,
and it is repeated on Judith's dress. The wreath or
garland, of which the Greeks were so fond, became a
favourite motive for the Renaissance mantelpiece. The
classical amoretti, of which many versions in bronze existed,
were also frequently copied. But there was one radical
difference between the children of antiquity and those of
the Renaissance. Though children were introduced on to
classical sarcophagi and so forth, it is impossible to say
that it was for the sake of their youth. There are genii
in plenty ; and in the imps which swarm over the

AND CHILDHOOD 105

emblematic figure of the Nile in the Vatican the sculptor
shows no love or respect for childhood. There is no child
on the Parthenon frieze, excepting a Cupid, who has really
no claim to be reckoned as such. Donatello could not
have made a relief 150 yards long without introducing
children, whether their presence were justified or not.
He would probably have overcrowded the composition
with their young forms. Whether right or wrong, he
uses them arbitrarily, as simple specimens of pure joyous
childhood. Antique sculpture, too, had its arbitrary and
conventional adjuncts — the Satyr and the Bacchic attend-
ants; but how dreary that the vacant spaces in a relief
should have to rely upon what is half-human or offensive —
the avowedly inhuman gargoyles of the thirteenth century
are infinitely to be preferred. Donatello was possessed by
the sheer love of childhood : with him they are boys,
fanciulli ignudi* very human boys, which, though winged
and stationed on a font, were boys first and angels after-
wards. And he overcame the immense technical difficul-
ties which childhood presents. The model is restive and
the form is immature, the softness of nature has to be
rendered in the hardest material. The lines are incon-
sequent, and the limbs do not yet show the muscles on
which plastic art can usually depend. Nothing requires
more deftness than to give elasticity to a form which has
no external sign of vigour. So many sculptors failed to
master this initial difficulty — Verrochio, for instance.
He made the bronze fountain in the Palazzo Pubblico, and
an equally fine statue of similar dimensions now belonging
to M. Gustave Dreyfus. Both have vivacity and move-

* Contract with Domopera of Siena. Payment for wax, for making
the bronze figures for the Baptistery. i6, iv. 1428. Lusini, 38,

106 DONATELLO

ment, but both have also a fat stubby appearance ; the
flesh has the consistency of pudding, and though soft and
velvety in surface is without the inner meaning of the
children on the Cantoria. In this work, where Donatello
has carved some three dozen children, we have a series of
instantaneous photographs. Nobody else had enough
knowledge or courage to make rigid bars of children's
legs : here they swing on pivots from the hip-joint. It is
the true picture of life, rendered with superlative skill
and bravura. But Donatello's children serve a purpose,
if only that of decoration. At Padua they form a little
orchestra to accompany the duets. The singing angels
there are among the most charming of the company ; and
whether intentionally or not, they give the impression of
having forgotten the time, or of being a little puzzled by
the music-book ! But Donatello fails to express the ex-
quisite modulation by which Luca della Robbia almost
gives actual sound to his Cantoria : where one sees the
swelling throat, the inflated lungs, the effort of the higher
notes, and the voice falling to reach those which are deep.
Luca's children, it is true, are bigger and older ; but in
this respect he was unsurpassed, even by painters whose
medium should have placed them beyond rivalry in such a
respect. The choir of Piero della Francesca's Nativity is
so well contrived that one can distinguish the alto from
the tenor ; but Luca was able to do even more. He gives
cadence, rhythm and expression where others did no more
than represent the voice. Donatello's dancing children
are more important than his musicians. He was able to
give free vein to his fancy. We have flights of uncon-
trollable children, romping and rioting, dashing to and
fro, playing and laughing as they pass about garlands

THE CANTORIA 107

among them. And their self-reliance is worth noticing ;
they are absorbed in their dance — children dance rather
heavily — and only a few of them look outwards. There
is no self-consciousness, no appeal to the spectator : they
are immensely busy, and enjoy life to the full. Then we
have a more demure type of childhood : they are shield-
bearers on the Gattamelata monument, or occupy an
analogous position on the lower part of the Cantoria.
Others hold the cartel or epitaph as on the Coscia tomb.
And again Donatello introduces children as pure decora-
tion. The triangular base of the Judith, for instance,
and the bronze capital which supports the Prato pulpit,
have childhood for their sole motive. He smuggles
children on to the croziers of St. Louis and Bishop Pecci :
they are the supporters of Gattamelata's saddle: they
decorate the vestments of San Daniele. They share the
tragedy of the Pieta, and we have them in his reliefs.
The entire frieze of the pulpits of San Lorenzo is simply
one Jong row of children — some two hundred in all.

The The Cantoria, or organ-loft, of the Florentine

Cantoria. Cathedral was ordered soon after Donatello's
return from Rome, and was erected about 1441. It was
placed over one of the Sacristy doors, corresponding in
position with Luca della Robbia's cantoria on the oppo-
site side of the choir. The ill-fortune which dispersed the
Paduan altar and Donatello's work for the facade likewise
caused the removal of this gallery. Late in the seventeenth
century a royal marriage was solemnised, for which an
orchestra of unusual numbers was required, and the two
cantorie were removed as inadequate. The large brackets

108 DONATELLO

remained in situ for some time, but were afterwards taken
away also. The two galleries have now been re-erected
at either end of the chief room of the Opera del Duomo.
But the size of the galleries is considerable, and they occupy
so much of the end walls to which they are fixed, that it
is impossible to see the sides or outer panels of either
cantoria. In the case of Luca's gallery, the side panels
have been replaced by facsimiles, and the originals can be
minutely examined, being only four or five feet from the
ground, and very suggestive they are. As the side panels
of Donatello's gallery are equally invisible in their present
position they might also be brought down to the eye level.
Comparison with Luca's work would then be still more
simplified. But though in a trying light, and too low
down, the sculpture shows that it was Donatello who gave
the more careful attention to the conditions under which
the work would be seen. The delicacy and grace of Luca's
choir make Donatello's boys look coarse and rough-hewn.
But in the dim Cathedral, where Donatello's children would
appear bold and vivacious, the others would look insipid
and weak. Moreover, the lower tier of Luca's panels
beneath the projection and enclosed by the broad brackets,
would have been in such a subdued light that some of the
heads in low-relief would have been scarcely emphasised at
all. In reconstructing Donatello's gallery an error has
been made by which a long band of mosaic runs along the
whole length of the relief, above the children's heads.
M. Reymond has pointed out that the ground level should
have been raised in order to prevent what Donatello would
undoubtedly have avoided, namely, a blank and meaningless
stretch of mosaic* M. Reymond's brilliant suggestion
* Reymond, I., p. 107.

THE PRATO PULPIT 109

about a similar point in regard to the other cantoria, a
criticism which has been verified in a remarkable manner,
entitles his suggestion to great weight. The angles of the
cantoria where the side panels join the main relief lack
finish : something like the pilasters which cover the angles
of the Judith base are required. As for the design, the
gallery made by Luca della Robbia has an advantage over
Donatello's in that the figures are not placed behind a
row of columns. There is something tantalising in the
fact that the most boisterous and roguish of all the troop
is concealed by a pillar of spangled white and gold. These
pillars were perhaps needed to break the long line of the
relief : but they have no such significance, as, for instance,
the row of pillars on the Saltarello tomb,* behind which
the Bishop's effigy lies — a barrier between the living and
the dead, across which the attendant angels can drop the
curtain. Donatello's gallery is, perhaps, over-decorated.
There is less gilding now than formerly, and the complex
ornament does not materially interfere with the broad
features of the design : but a little more reserve would not
have been amiss.

The Prato The second work in which Donatello took his
Pulpit. inspiration exclusively from childhood is at
Prato. It is an external pulpit, fixed at the southern
angle of the Cathedral facade, and employed to display the
most famous relic possessed by the town, namely, the girdle
of the Virgin. The first contract was made as early as
1428 with Donatello and Michelozzo, industriosi maestri, to
whom careful measurements were given.f The sculptors
* By Nino Pisano, in Sta. Caterina, Pisa. f *4» vii. 1428.

110 DONATELLO

promised to finish the work by September 1, 1429. Five
years later, there was still no pulpit, and having vainly
invoked the aid of Cosimo, they finally sent to Rome, where
Donatello had by then gone, and a revised contract was
made with the industrious sculptors, though Michelozzo is
not mentioned by name.* The work was finished in about
four years, and within three weeks of signing the new
contract one of the reliefs was completed ; it may, of course,
have been already begun. Its success was immediate.
" All say with one accord that never has such a work of
art been seen before ;" and the writer of the entertaining
letter from which this eulogy is quoted goes on to say that
Donatello is of good disposition; that such men are not
found every day, and that he had better be encouraged by
a little money.t The Prato pulpit has seven marble reliefs
on mosaic grounds, separated by twin pilasters : there are
thirty-two children in all.J It is a most attractive work,
cleverly placed against the decorous little Cathedral and
not surrounded by sculpture of the first order with which
to make invidious comparisons. But beside the cantoria
it is almost insignificant. The Prato children dance too,
but without the perennial spring ; they have plenty of
movement, but seem apt to stumble. They do not scamper
along with the feverish enthusiasm of the other children :
they must get very tired. Moreover, several of the panels
are confused. They are, of course, crowded, for Donatello
liked crowds, especially for his children ; but his crowds were
well marshalled and the individual figures which composed

* 27, v. 1434.

t Letter from Matteo degli Orghani, printed with the other docu-
ments in C. Guasti, opere, iv. 463-477.

J A pair of terracotta variants of these panels are preserved in the
Wallace Collection at Hertford House.

THE PRATO PULPIT

THE PRATO PULPIT 111

them were not allowed to suffer by their surroundings
anatomically. The Prato children belong to a chubby
and robust type. They have a tendency to short necks
and unduly big heads which sink on to the torso. Michelozzo
never grasped the spirit of childhood ; those at Monte-
pulciano were not a success, and he was largely responsible
for the Prato Pulpit ; it has been suggested that Simone
Ferrucci also assisted. Certainly it would be Michelozzo's
idea to divide the frieze into compartments, which interrupt
the continuity of the relief and necessitate fourteen terminal
points instead of four on the cantoria. We can also
detect Michelozzo's hand in the rather stiff and pro-
fessional details of the architecture. But he seems to
have also executed some of the reliefs, even if the general
idea from which he worked should have been Donatello's.
Thus the panel most remote from the cathedral facade is
involved in design and faulty in execution ; and the chil-
dren's expression is aimless and dull. But it must not
be inferred that the Prato Pulpit is in any sense a failure,
or even displeasing. Its popularity is thoroughly well
deserved. The test of comparison with the cantoria is
most searching, too severe indeed, for such a high standard
could not be maintained. But if the capo cTopera of
sculptured child-life be excluded, the Prato Pulpit will
always retain a well-deserved popularity. Two further
points should be noted. Below the pulpit is a bronze
relief, shaped like the capital of a large column. There
should be two of them, and it used to be believed that the
second was destroyed in 1512 when the Spanish troops
sacked the town. But the story is apocryphal, for the
documents show that payment was only made for one
relief, and that Michelozzo was entirely responsible for the

112 DONATELLO

casting. It is a most decorative panel, the motive being
ribands and wreaths, among which there are eleven winged
putti of different sizes. At the top of the capital is a big
baby in high-relief peeping over the edge ; an exquisite
fancy reminding us of the two inquisitive children clamber-
ing over the heraldic shields on the Pecci monument. On
the base of the capital are two other putti of equal charm,
winged like the rest, and sedately looking outwards in
either direction. The volutes of the bronze are decorated
with other figures, less boyish and almost suggesting the
touch of Ghiberti, who, it may be remarked, was appointed
assessor of the contract by the Wardens of the Girdle.
Finally, one may inquire what DonateuVs motive can have
been in designing the frieze : what may be the relation of
the sculpture to the precious Girdle. No conclusive answer
can be given. In the organ-loft of Luca della Robbia the
object was to show praise of the Lord " with all kinds of
instruments " * : Donatello's was to " let them praise his
name in the dance.11 f At Prato we have dance and music
for no apparent reason, except perhaps as a display of
joyfulness appropriate to the great festival of exhibiting
the Cingolo. It is possible that the curious little reliquary
in which the Girdle is actually preserved may supply the
clue to some legend or tradition connected with the relic.
This cqfanetto was remodelled about this time, and the
primitive motive and design may have been impaired. But
we have a series of winged putti made of ivory, who dance
and play about much as those on the pulpit, but amongst
whom one can see scraps of rope, signifying the Girdle,
from which they derive their incentive to joy and vivacity.

* Psalm cl. t Psalm cxlix.

OTHER CHILDREN BY DONATELLO 118

Other Chil- There are six putti above the Annunciation in
drenby Santa Croce. They are made of terra-cotta,
ona e . w^jje ^e res{. 0f ^he work is in stone, and
designed in such a way that the children are superfluous.
They are, however, undoubtedly by Donatello, and may
have been added as an afterthought. Two stand on either
side of the curved tympanum, clinging to each other as
they look downwards, and afraid of falling over the steep
precipice. Their attitude is shy and timid, as Leonardo
said was advisable when making little children standing
still.* Though unnecessary, their presence on the relief is
justified by Donatello1s skill and humour. In the great
reliefs at Padua, Siena and Lille he introduces them without
any specific object, though he contrives that they shall
show fear or surprise in response to the incident portrayed.
It is puzzling to know what the bronze boy in the Bargello
should be called. Perseus, Mercury, Cupid, Allegory and
Amorino have been suggested : he combines attributes of
them all together with the budding tail of a faun, and the
gambali, the buskin-trouser of the Tuscan peasant t —
" vestito in un certo modo bizzarro? as Vasari says. Cinelli
thought it classical, and it resembles an undoubted antique
in the Louvre. Donatello has clearly taken classical
motives ; the winged feet and the serpents twining between
them are not Renaissance in form or idea. But the statue
itself is closely akin to the Cantoria children, but being in
bronze shows a higher polish, and, moreover, is treated in a
less summary fashion. It is a brilliant piece of bronze :

* " Trattato della Pintura," Richter, i. 291.

t This open form of trouser, of which one sees a variant on the
Martelli David, was also classical. The Athis or Phrygian shepherd
usually wears something of the kind.

114 DONATELLO

colour, cast and chiselling are alike admirable, and there is
a vibration in the movement as the saucy little fellow looks
up laughing, having presumably just shot off an arrow ; or
possibly he has been twanging a wire drawn tightly between
the fingers. It throws much light on the bronze boys at
Padua made ten or fifteen years later. This Florentine
boy shows how completely Donatello, perhaps with the
assistance of a caster, could render his meaning in bronze.
In two or three cases at Padua the work is clumsy and
slipshod, showing how he allowed his assistants to take
liberties which he would never have countenanced in work
finished by his own hands. The Bargello has another
Amorino of bronze, a nude winged boy standing on a
cockleshell, and just about to fly away; quite a pleasing
statuette, and executed with skill except as regards the
extremities of the fingers, where the bronze has failed. It
resembles Donatello's putti who play and dance on the
corners of the tabernacle of Quercia's font at Siena ; but
the base of this figure differs from that of the other four.
A fifth of the Sienese putti was recently bought in London
for the Berlin Gallery, an invaluable acquisition to that
growing collection.* This group, however, is less important
than the wonderful pair of bronze putti belonging to
Madame Andre.f These are much larger : they carry
candle-sockets and are lightly draped with a few ribands
and garlands: judging from the way they are huddled
up, it is possible that they formed part of a larger work.
They appear to be a good deal later than the Cantoria,

* Very similar classical types are in the British Museum, No. 1147 ;
and the Eros springing forward in the Forman Collection (dispersed in
1899) is almost identical.

t From the Piot Collection. Figured in "Gaz. des Beaux Arts,"
1890, iii. 410.

BRONZE AMORINO

BARGELLO

OTHER CHILDREN BY DONATELLO 115

though they do not show any technical superiority to the
large Bargello Amorino ; but they have not quite got that
freshness which cannot be dissociated from work made
between 1433 and 1440. Madame Andre has another
superb Donatello — a marble boy: his attitude is un-
becoming, but the modelling of this admirable statue —
the urchin is nearly life-sized — is almost unequalled.
There is a similar figure in the Louvre made by some
imitator. It need hardly be said that DonatehVs children,
especially the free-standing bronze statuettes, were widely
copied. According to Vasari, Donatello designed the
wooden putti carrying garlands in the new Sacristy of the
Duomo. There are fourteen of these boys, and they over-
step the cornice like Michelozzo's angels in the Capella
Portinari at Milan. Donatello may have given the sketch
for one or two, but there is a lack of intelligence about
them, besides a certain monotony. Moreover, it is im-
probable that Donatello would have designed garlands
so bulky that they threaten to push the little boys who
carry them off the cornice. In spite of its faults, this frieze
is charming. The ndiveU of the quattrocento often invests
its errors with attraction. It would be wearisome to
catalogue the scores of bronze children which show
undoubted imitation of Donatello. They exist in every
great collection, one of exceptional merit being in London.*
A large school sprang into existence, chiefly in Padua and
Venice, whence it spread all over Northern Italy, and
produced any number of bronze works which recall one or
other feature of Donatello's children. But they never
approached Donatello. Their work was a sort of minuteria

* Victoria and Albert Museum, No. 475, 1864. A. winged boy carry-
ing a dolphin.

116 DONATELLO

— table ornaments, plaquettes, inkstands, and the ordinary
decoration of a sitting-room. Monumental childhood almost
ceased to exist in Italian plastic art, and, after Michael
Angelo, degenerated into stout and prosperous children
lolling in clouds and diving among the draperies which
adorned the later altars and tombs. Their didactic value
was soon lost to Italian sculpture, and with it went their
inherent grace and significance. Donatello was among the
first as he was among the last seriously to apply to sculpture
the words ex ore vnfantium perfecisti laudem.

Boys' It is inexplicable that modern criticism should

Busts. withdraw from Donatello all the free-standing

or portrait-busts of boys, while going to the opposite extreme
in ascribing to him an enormous number of Madonnas. We
know that Donatello was passionately fond of carving
children on his reliefs : we also know that only two versions
of the Madonna can be really authenticated as his work.
Why should Donatello have made no busts of boys when it
is not denied that he was responsible for something like
one hundred boys in full-length ; and how does it come
about that scores of Madonnas should be attributed to him
when we only have the record of a few ? There can be no
doubt that Donatello would not have rested content with
children in relief or in miniature. The very preparation of
his numerous works in this category must have led him to
make busts as well, quite apart from his own inclinations.
The stylistic method of argument should not be abused :
if driven to a strict and logical conclusion it becomes mis-
leading. It ignores the human element in the artist. It
pays no attention to his desire to vary the nature of his

BOYS' BUSTS 117

work or to make experiments. It eliminates the likelihood
of forms which differ from the customary type, and it makes
no allowance for possibilities or probabilities, least of all for
mistakes. It is purely on stylistic grounds that each bust
connected with Donatello's name has been withdrawn from
the list of his works. A fashion had grown up to ascribe
to Donatello all that delightful group of marble busts now
scattered over Europe. Numbers were obviously the work
of competent but later men : Rossellino, Desiderio, Mino
da Fiesole, and so forth. There remain others which are
more doubtful, but which in one detail or another are
alleged to be un-Donatellesque, and have therefore been
fearlessly attributed to other sculptors from whose authen-
ticated work they often dissent. That, however, was
immaterial, the primary object being to disinherit Dona-
tello without much thought as to his lawful successor in
title. A critical discrimination between these busts was an
admitted need ; everything of the kind had been convention-
ally ascribed to Donatello just as Luca della Robbia was
held responsible for every bit of glazed terra-cotta. These
ascriptions to the most fashionable and lucrative names
had become conventional, and had to be destroyed. In-
valuable service has been rendered by reducing the number
given to Donatello and adding to the number properly
ascribed to others. But the process has gone too far. The
difficulties are, of course, great, and stylistic data offer the
only starting-point ; but as these data are readily found by
comparison with Donatello's accepted work, it ought to be
possible, on the fair and natural assumption that Donatello
may well have made such busts, to determine the authenti-
city of a certain proportion. In any case, it would be less
difficult to prove that Donatello did, than that he did not

118 DONATELLO

make statues of this description. Among the busts of very
young boys which cannot be assigned to Donatello are
those belonging to Herr Benda in Vienna, and to M. G.
Dreyfus in Paris. Nothing can exceed their softness and
delicacy of modelling, and they are among the most
winning statuettes in the world. They were frequently
copied by Desiderio and his entourage. One of the little
heads in the Vanchettoni Chapel at Florence is likewise
animated by a similar exemplar. There is something
girlish about them, a pursuit of prettiness which is no
doubt the source of their singular attraction, and which
invests them with an irresistible charm. The San Gio-
vannino, also in the Vanchettoni, is a more concrete version
of childhood, but is by the same hand as its fellow. These
four busts fail to characterise the child's head ; not indeed
that characterisation was needed to make an enchanting
work, but that Donatello's children elsewhere show more of
the individual touches of the master and personal notes of
the child. The Duke of Westminster possesses a life-sized
head of a boy,* which is palpably by Donatello, though no
document exists to prove it. We have all the essentials of
Donatello's modelling ; the handling is uncompromising
and firm ; the child is treated more like a portrait. Indeed,
many of these children's busts, even when symbolised by
St. John's rough tunic, were avowed portraits — the Martelli
San Giovannino, for instance, which from Vasari's time has
been ascribed, and probably with justice, to Donatello.
This little head enjoys a reputation which it scarcely
deserves. The expression is dull, the hair grows so low
that scarcely any forehead is visible ; the cheeks bulge out,

* In Grosvenor House. Bronze ; generally known as " The Laugh-
ing Boy."

SAN GIOVANNINO
FAEXZA MUSEUM

BOYS1 BUSTS 119

and the mouth is too small. We have, in fact, a lifelike
presentment of some boy, perhaps of the Martelli family,
showing him at his least prepossessing moment, when the
bloom of childhood has passed away, and before the lines
have been fined down and merged into the stronger contours
of youth. Desiderio would have improved Nature by
modifying the boy's features, and we should have had a
work comparable to those previously mentioned. But
Donatello (and perhaps his patrons) preferred a less idealised
version. The Martelli figure, and a most important boy's
bust belonging to Frau Hainauer in Berlin, are now
usually ascribed to Rossellino. But his St. John in the
Bargello, where all the features are softened down, and his
authenticated work in San Miniato and elsewhere, make
the attribution open to question. The St. John at Faenza
is also denied to be by Donatello ; one of the critics who is
quite certain on the point believes the bust to be made of
wood ! These problems cannot be settled by spending ten lire
on photographs. The bust at Faenza,* though a faithful
portrait, is one of the most romantic specimens of child-
hood depicted by Donatello. Admirably modelled, and
with a surface like ivory, it gives the intimate characteristics
of the model. Nothing has been embellished or suppressed,
if we may judge from the absolute sequence and corre-
spondence of all the features. The flat head, the projecting
mouth, and the much-curved nose, are sure signs of accurate
and painstaking observation ; they combine to give it a
personal note which adds much to its abstract merits. The

* Its proportion is impaired by the basal drapery, which was grafted
to the statue at a later date. This bust belonged to Sabba da Casti-
glione, who was very proud of it. He was born within twenty years of
Donatello's death.

120 DONATELLO

St. John in the Louvre* is also a portrait, but of an older
boy, in whom the first signs of maturity are faintly in-
dicated: lines on the forehead, a stronger neck, and a
harder accentuation of nose and mouth. But he is still a
boy, though he will soon go forth into the wilderness. By
the side of the Faenza Giovannino he would appear rough ;
beside the Vienna and Dreyfus statuettes he would be harsh
and unsympathetic. He has no smiling countenance, no
fascinating twinkle of the eye: the type has not been
generalised as in Desiderio's work, and it therefore lacks
those qualities, the very absence of which makes it most
Donatellesque. The fundamental distinction between
Donatello and the later masters can be emphasised by com-
paring this bust with another group of terra-cotta heads,
which are analogous, although the boy in them is older.
One in the Berlin Gallery f has been painted, and no final
judgment can be passed until the more recent accretions of
oil-colour have been removed. But the whole conception
is weakly and vapid. The brown eyes, the nicely rouged
cheeks, the mincing look, and the affectation of the pose
make a genteel page-boy of him, and all suggest a later
imitation — about 1470 perhaps — and contemporary with
the somewhat analogous though better rendering in the
Louvre.J The version belonging to M. Dreyfus differs in
certain details from the Berlin bust, and it has been
fortunate in escaping careless painting ; it has more vigour
and virility. One remark may be made about the Faenza,
Grosvenor House, Martelli, Hainauer and Louvre busts :
they all show a peculiarity in the treatment of the hair.

* No. 383. Marble. Goupil Bequest.

+ Stucco, No. 38A. Cf. also one belonging to Herr Ricbard von
Kaufmann, Berlin.

t No. 1274, St. John, Florentine School, a painting.

NICCOLO DA UZZANO 121

It is bunched together and drawn back from behind the
ears, and is gathered on the nape of the neck, down which
it seems to curl. This is precisely the treatment observed
in the Mandorla relief, the Martelli David, the young
Gattamelata, and the Amorino in the Bargello : in a lesser
degree it is observable in the Isaac and the Siena Virtues.
The point is not one upon which stress could properly be
laid, but it is a further point of contact between Donatello's
accepted work and some few out of the numerous boys'
busts which he must inevitably have made.

Niccolb da The bust of Niccolo da Uzzano has gained its

Uzzano widespread popularity from its least genuine

, feature — namely, the paint with which it is dis-

cnromacy. •" r

figured. The daubs of colour give it a fictitious
importance, an actual realism which invests it with the
illusion of living flesh and blood. This is all the more
unfortunate, as the bust is a remarkable work, and does
not gain by being made into a " speaking likeness." Its
merits can best be appreciated in a cast, where the form is
reproduced without the dubious embellishments of later
times. Niccolo was a high-minded patrician, an im-
placable opponent of the Medici, and a warm friend of
higher education : it is also of interest that he should
have been an executor of the will of John XXIII. He
was born in 1359, and died in 1432. The bust is made
of terra-cotta, and shows a man of sixty-five or so, and
would therefore be coeval with the later Campanile pro-
phets (but nothing beyond old tradition can be accepted
as authority for the nomenclature). The modelling of
the head is quite masterly. Niccolo is looking rather to

122 DONATELLO

the left ; his keen and hawklike countenance, and his
piercing eyes, deep set and quivering within pendulous
eyelids, give a sense of invincible logic and penetration.
The laconic, matter-of-fact mouth, and the resolute jaw
add strength and courage to the physiognomy : the nose
and its disdainful nostrils are those of the haughty opti-
mate. The head is, however, less fine than the face : a
skull of rather common proportions, and a sloping though
broad forehead are its marked features. Donatello has
given him an ugly ear; Niccolo's ear was, therefore, ugly,
and the throat is swollen. The shoulders are covered with
a thick piece of drapery, leaving the throat and upper
part of the breast bare. Such is the impression conveyed
by Niccolo in the cast. In the Bargello the colouring
modifies what the form itself was meant to suggest. The
smallest error of a paint-brush, the slightest deepening of
a pigment, are quite sufficient to make radical alterations
in the sentiment of a statue. When applied to plastic
art, colour is potent enough to change the essential pur-
pose of the sculptor. The chief reason why the terra-
cotta bust of St. John at Berlin looks flippant and
fastidious is, that the painter was indiscreet in drawing
the eyebrows and lips : owing to his carelessness, they do
not coincide with the features indicated by the modeller,
and the entire character of the boy is consequently changed.
The question of polychromacy in Donatello's sculpture is
of great importance, and requires some notice. It is no
longer denied that classical statues were frequently coloured.
The Parthenon frieze and many celebrated monuments of
antiquity were picked out with colour. Others received
some kind of polish, circumlitio, — like the dark varnish
which is on the face of the Coscia effigy. Again, the use

NICCOLO DA UZZAXO

BAKGELLO, FLORENCE

POLYCHROMACY 123

of ivory, precious stones, and metal was common. The
lips and eyeballs were frequently overlaid by thin slabs of
silver.* The origin of polychromacy, doubtless, dates
back to the most remote ages. It was first needed to
conceal imperfections, and to supply what the carver felt
his inability to render. It connotes insufficiency in the
form. The sculptor, of all people, ought to be able to see
colour in the uncoloured stone : he ought to realise its
warmth, texture and shades. Nobody has any right to
complain that a statue is uncoloured : the substance and
quality of the marble is in itself pleasing, but relative
truth is all that is required in a portrait-bust. If one
wants to know the colour of a man's eye, or the precise
tint of his complexion, the painter's art should be invoked,
but only where its gradations and subtleties can be fully
rendered — on the canvas. Polychromacy is a mixture of
two arts : it is one art trying to steal a march upon
another art by producing illusion. That is why the pan-
taloon paints his face, and why the audience laughs : the
spirit which tolerates painted statues ends by adorning
them with necklaces. Donatello, whose sense of light and
shade was acutely developed, least required the adventitious
aid of colour. Polychromacy was to a certain extent
justified on terra-cotta, to soften the toneless colour of the
clay, and on wood it served a purpose in hiding the cracks
of a brittle substance. Nowadays it is happily no more
than a refugium peccatorum. There is, however, no doubt
that in Donatello's day it was widely used, and used by
Donatello himself. It began in actual need, then became
a convention, and long survived : Urty a riendeplus respect-
able qu\m ancien abus. During the fifteenth century
* CJ. Naples Museum, No. 5592.

124 DONATELLO

statues were coloured during the highest proficiency of
sculpture : buildings were painted,* and bronze was
habitually gilded. Donatello's Coscia, and his work at
Siena and Padua, still show signs of it. The St. Mark
was coloured, and the Cantoria was much more brilliant
with gold than it is now. The St. Luke, which was re-
moved from Or San Michele,f has long been protected from
the weather, and still shows traces of a rich brocade
decorated with coloured lines. The Christ of Piero
Tedesco on the facade of the Cathedral had glass eyes.
Roland and Oliver, two wonderful creations on the facade
of the Cathedral at Verona, had blue enamel eyes. The
Apostles in the Church of San Zeno, in the same city,
are exceptionally interesting, being one of the rare cases
where the genuine colouring is visible, although it has
been much worn. The early colourists used tempera; J
as this perished, oil paint was substituted, and there are
very few painted statues extant on which restoration has
never taken place, and consequently where the original
colour of the sculptor is intact. With repainting, the
original artist disappears : even if the work is cast, the
delicate tints of the first colouring must be impaired,
and repainting follows. Thus the Niccolo da Uzzano is
covered with inferior oil colour, and only in a few details
can the primitive tempera be detected. The later addition
creates the fictitious interest, and immensely reduces the
real importance of this masterly production.

* Cf. drawings of facades in Vettorio Ghiberti's Note-book,
t Bargello Cortile, No. 3, by Niccolo di Piero.

X Borghini, in 1586, gave a curious recipe for colouring marble
according to antique rules. Florentine ed. 1730, p. 123.

PORTRAIT-BUSTS 125

Portrait- It is a singular fact admitting of no ready
busts. explanation that portrait-busts, so common in

Tuscany, should scarcely have existed in Venice. Florence
was their native home. From the time of Donatello every
sculptor of note was responsible for one or more, while
certain artists made it a regular occupation. Luca della
Robbia, however, one of the most consummate sculptors of
his day, made no portrait except the effigy of Bishop
Federighi. There are one or two small heads in the
Bargello, but they scarcely come within the category of
studied portraits, while the heads on the bronze doors of
the Duomo, though modelled from living people, are small
and purely decorative in purpose. Glazed terra-cotta was
a material so admirably adapted to showing the refine-
ments of feature and character, as we can see in both
Luca's and Andrea^ work, that this absence is all the more
surprising. At the same time, numerous as portrait-statues
were in Tuscany, they do not compare in numbers with
those executed in classical times. In the fifteenth century
the statue was a work of art, and its actual carving was an
integral part of the art : so the replica in sculpture was
rare. But under the Roman Empire statues of the same
man were erected in scores and hundreds in the same city ;
their multiplication became a profession in itself, and a
large class of artisans must have grown up, eternally
copying and recopying portrait-busts and giving them the
haunting dulness of mechanical reproductions. The artist
himself was more interested in the torso than the head ;
some artists came to be regarded as specialists in their
own lines ; Calcosthenes for instance, who made athletes,
and Apollodorus, who made philosophers. Donatello
made several portrait-busts, and two or three others, such

126 DONATELLO

as the head of St. Laurence, and the so-called St. Cecilia
in London, which are portraits in all essentials. These
two are idealised heads, both made late in life, judging
from a certain sketchiness, in no way detracting from their
sterling qualities, but indicative of Donatello's fluency as
an oldish man. Both are in terra-cotta. The St. Laurence
is placed on the top of one of the great chests in the
Sacristy of San Lorenzo, too high above the eye-level.* It
has no connection with the decorative work carried out
there by the master, and it is difficult to see how it could
have been meant to fit in with the altar. However, the
authorship of Donatello is beyond question. St. Laurence
is almost a boy, wearing his deacon's vestments. His head
is raised up as if he had just heard something and were
about to reply. The eager and inquiring look is most
happily shown. The sentiment of this bust is quite out of
the common ; it has an engaging expression which is rare
in the sculpture of all ages, differing from what is called
animation or vivacity. These also may be found in
the St. Laurence, where the exact but indescribable move-
ment of the face as he is about to speak is rendered with
immense skill. The bust, though modelled with a free
hand, is not carelessly executed ; everything is in concord,
and the treatment of the clay shows exceptional dexterity,
more so, at any rate, than is the case in the St. Cecilia, f
The name given to this bust is traditional, there being no
symbol to connect it with her; but it suggests at least
that the work was not meant purely as a portrait. In

* It used to be over one of the doors, preserved in una cusiodia which
Richa thought ought to have been made of crystal, so precious was
the bust. — "Ch. Fiorentine," 1758, v. 39.

t Victoria and Albert Museum, No. 7585, 1861.

PORTRAIT-BUSTS 127

technique and conception it is not quite equal to the
St. Laurence, but it is none the less a work of rare merit,
and being Donatello's only clay portrait in this country
has a special value to us. The Saint looks downwards,
pensive, quiet and modest, the embodiment of tranquillity
and calm. There is no movement or effort about her,
neither does the work show any effort on the part of the
sculptor. It is equable in a very marked degree; the
smooth regular features are simple and well defined,
and the hair, brushed back from the forehead, has a
softness which could scarcely be obtained in marble. The
bust known as Louis III. of Gonzaga is interesting in
another way : it is bronze and has been left in an unfinished
state. Two versions of it exist — one in Berlin, the other
in Paris, belonging to Madame Andre, the latter being
perhaps the less ugly of the two. It used to be known as
Alfonso of Naples, on the assumption that Donatello must
surely have made a bust of that prince. This theory,
however, had to be abandoned, and it is now held to be a
portrait of the Gonzaga as being a closer resemblance to
him than to Alfonso, or Giovanni Tornabuoni. Mantegna's
portrait of Gonzaga, though made later, shows a rather
different type, less displeasing than the bronze. In the
bust we have what is probably the portrait of a coarse and
clumsy person ; he is petulant in the mouth, weak in the
chin, gross in the thick and heavy jaw. The bronze is
extremely rough, and shows no signs of the nervous and
individual touches which we find inDonatello's terra-cotta.
Both the busts are unfinished ; in the absence of chasing
and hammering they are covered with bubbles and splotches
of metal. They have, therefore, not passed through the
hands of assistants, except so far as the actual casting of the

128 DONATELLO

bronze was concerned. During the process of casting the
refinements of a clay model would often be impaired, but
this shows no sign of having been made from an original of
merit. The man is ugly, it is true ; but the broad expanse
of his lifeless cheek and the bulbous forehead would in
real life have been explained and justified by bone and
muscle, which the sculptor would have rendered in his clay
study. The ugliness of the man, however, is unrelated to
the qualities of the bust. Nobody could make the likeness
of an ugly man better than Donatello ; and since the faults
of this portrait lie more in the modelling than in the
sitter, one is driven to conclude that the bust must be
entirely the work of an assistant, or else a failure of the
master.

An effective counterpart to this bust exists in Berlin.
It is also a life-sized bronze of an older man, and in many
ways the likeness to the Gonzaga bust is notable. But
wherever Gonzaga's features lack distinction this portrait
shows fine qualities and good breeding. Nothing could
better illustrate how minute are the plastic details which
will revolutionise a countenance ; how easily noble and
handsome features can degenerate into what is sordid and
vulgar. In this bust the chin, though receding, is far from
weak ; the lips are full but not sensual ; the nose has the
faint aquiline curve of distinction. There is benevolence
in the eyes, meditation in the brow, dignity and reserve
throughout the physiognomy : it is the portrait of a man
who may be great, but who must be good. When a bronze
abozzo has to be finished the detail is added by hammering
the metal, or incising it with gravers. Thus the bronze
has to be reduced, it being seldom possible to enlarge it at
any point. But the Gonzaga bust would require to be

PORTRAIT-BUSTS 129

enlarged in several places to make it a lifelike head. In
the case of the portrait j ust described, the metal was cast
from a rough sketch which, in the first place, had the
qualities of a living and consistent head, and which, in the
second place, was modelled with sufficient amplitude to
permit the entire head to be hammered, and the exquisite
details to be added. Technically this head is almost
unequalled among DonatehVs bronze portraits ; it is quite
superb. Comparison with the Gattamelata at Padua is fair
to neither. But it can be suitably compared with the bronze
portrait in the Bargello generally known as the Young
Gattamelata. The tomb of Giovanni Antonio, son of the
famous Condottiere, is in the Santo at Padua. The effigy
resembles this bust. Giovanni died young in 1456, and on
the whole there is sufficient reason for considering it to be
his portrait. On this assumption the bust can be dated
about 1455. It is a happy combination of youth and
maturity. On the one side we have the smooth features,
still unmarked by frowns and furrows, the soft youthful
texture of the skin, and something young in the thick
curly hair. On the other hand, the character of the face
shows perfect self-confidence in its best sense, as well as
self-control and determination. A scrap of drapery covers
the outer edge of either shoulder, and round his neck is a
riband, at the end of which hangs a large oval gem, Cupid
in a chariot making his horses gallop. Thus the throat
and breast are bare, and show exceptionally good rendering
of those thin bones and thick tendons which must always
be a severe test to the modeller. As for the bronze itself,
the surface is wrought with much care and finish, though
the Berlin bust is unapproached in this respect. A few
other portrait-busts remain to be noticed, which at one

130 DONATELLO

time or another have been attributed to Donatello. The
Vecchio Barbuto, a thoroughly poor piece of work, and the
Imperatore Romano* with its sadly disjointed and incon-
sequential appearance, are works which scarcely recall the
touch of Donatello. The bust of a veiled lady is more
interesting.-]- In the old Medici catalogue it used to be
called Donna velata incognita, or sacerdotessa velata : and
it was also called Annalena Malatesta: a suggestion
has been recently made that it represents the Contessina
de1 Bardi, who married Cosimo de1 Medici. Vasari certainly
mentions a bronze bust of the Contessina by Donatello ;
but the family records would scarcely have called so
important a person a nun or an incognita : moreover, she
did not die till 1473, and as this bust is obviously made
from a death-mask, it is clear that Donatello could not be
its author. The custom of making death-masks is described
by Polybius : in Donatello^ time it became very popular,
and Verrochio became one of the foremost men in this
branch of trade, which combined expedition and accuracy
with cheapness. The wax models were coloured and used
as chimney-piece decorations, in ogni casa di Firenze. The
bronze bust of San Rossore in the Church of Santo Stefano
at Pisa has been attributed to Donatello. From the
denunzia of 1427 we know that Donatello was occupied on
a bust of the saint, and certain payments are recorded.^
But beyond this fact there is no reason for assigning the
Pisa bust to him. No explanation is offered of its removal
from Florence to Pisa, and had we not known that Donatello
made such a bust, this uncouth and slovenly thing would
never have been ascribed to him. It is a reliquary, the

* Bargello, No. 18, and No. 6, life-sized bronze,
f Bargello, 17. J Gaye, i. 121.

RELIEF-PORTRAITS 131

crown of the head being detachable, and the head can also
be separated from the bust. It is heavily gilded and
minutely chased with the trivial work of some meagre
craftsman ; the eyes seem to have been enamelled. It is
merely interesting as a school-piece. Speaking generally,
Donatello's portraits are less important as busts than when
they are portions of complete statues. Excluding Niccol6
da Uzzano and the old man at Berlin, the heads he made
cannot compare with the portraits of John XXIII.,
Brancacci, Habbakuk and St. Francis at Padua. Donatello
helped to lay the foundations of the tremendous school of
portraiture which flourished after his death, both in
sculpture and painting ; based, in certain parts of Italy, on
the principles he had laid down, though thriving elsewhere
upon independent lines ; such, for instance, as the remark-
able group of portraits ascribed to Laurana or Gagini.
But at his best Donatello rarely approached the comprehen-
sive powers of Michael Angelo. With the latter we see
the whole corpus or entity made the vehicle of portraiture ;
everything is forced to combine, and to concentrate the
fido? of the conception ; everything is driven into harmony.
Michael Angelo gives a portrait which is also typical, while
preserving the real. Donatello seldom got beyond the
real ; but he went far towards realising the highest forms
of portraiture, and two or three of his works, though
differing in standard from the Brutus or the Penseroso,
surpass anything achieved by his contemporaries.

Relief- A few portraits in relief require a word of notice,
portraits. As a rule they are later in date, though they are
often given to Donatello. It became fashionable to have

132 DONATELLO

one's portrait made as a Roman celebrity : an Antonine for
instance ; a Galba or a Faustina ; or as some statesman, like
Scipio or Caesar. Donatello was not responsible for these
portraits, though several have been attributed to him. But
he made one or two such reliefs, such as the little St. John in
the Bargello which has already been described. The oval-
topped portrait in the same collection, made of pietra serena
— a clean-shaved man with longish hair and an aquiline nose,
is wrongly ascribed to Donatello. There is a much more
interesting portrait, two copies of which exist ; one is in
London, the other in Milan.* It is a relief-portrait of a
woman in profile to the right ; her neck and breast are bare,
treated similarly to the magnificent bust in the Bargello
(] 77). The two reliefs, of which the Milan copy is oval, while
ours is rectangular with a circular top, are modelled with
brilliant and exquisite rnorbidezza : the undercutting is
square, so that the shadows assert themselves ; the wavy
hair is brushed back and retained by a fillet, leaving the
neck and temples quite free. In many ways it is the marble
version of those portraits attributed to Piero della Fran-
cesca in the National Gallery j- and elsewhere, but treated
so that while the painting is curious the marble is beautiful.
These reliefs cannot be traced to Donatello, though they
show his style and influence in several particulars. Madame
Andre has a marble relief of an open-mouthed boy crowned
with laurels, and with ribands waving behind. It is very
close to the Piot St. John in the Louvre, and analogous in
some respects to two other reliefs of great interest, both in
Paris, belonging respectively to La Marquise Arconati-

* Victoria and Albert Museum, No. 923, 1900, and Museo Archeo-
logico, No. 1 68 1, both marble,
t Nos. 585 and 758.

SAN LORENZO 133

Visconti and to M. Gustave Dreyfus. These are marble
reliefs of St. John and Christ facing each other, exquisite
in their childhood. The former is round, the latter square.
It is usual to ascribe them to Desiderio, and there are
details which lead one to agree on the point. They show,
however, that Donatello's influence was strong enough to
survive his death in particulars which later men might well
have ignored. And the two reliefs combine the strength
of Donatello with the sweetness of Desiderio.

San Donatello must have completed the most im-

Lorenzo. portant decorative work in the Sacristy of San
Lorenzo by 1443. Brunellesco was the architect, and there
were differences between them as to their respective spheres
of work. Donatello made the bronze doors, a pair of large
reliefs, four large circular medallions of the Evangelists, as
well as four others of scenes from the life of St. John the
Evangelist. Excluding the doors, everything is made of
terra-cotta. The reliefs over the inner doors of the Sacristy
represent St. Stephen and St. Laurence on one side, and
St. Cosmo and St. Damian on the other. They are nearly
life size, modelled in rather low-relief upon panels with
circular tops, and of exceptional size for works in terra-
cotta. The reliefs are enclosed in Donatello's framework
of latish Renaissance design, but the figures themselves
are very simple. There is a minimum of ornament, and
they harmonise with the remarkable scheme of the bronze
doors below them, with which they have so many points in
common. The ceiling of the chapel has been repeatedly
whitewashed, and the eight medallions are consequently
blurred in surface and outline. It is a real misfortune, for,

134 DONATELLO

so far as one can judge, they contain compositions and
designs of great interest, by which a new light would
probably be thrown upon several doubtful problems were
it possible to study them with precision. Criticism must
therefore be guarded, and their position is such as to make
examination difficult. The Roundels of the Evangelists
are modelled with boldness and severity, qualities which
one is not surprised to find in Donatello, but which are
here emphasised, for they stand out in spite of the coats of
whitewash. In some ways they resemble the Evangelists
of the Capella Pazzi. Here one notices a delicacy of
decoration on the seats, desks, &c, contrasting with the
rugged grandeur of the figures themselves, and with the
absence of ornament, which is so marked a feature of the
other reliefs in the Sacristy. The four scenes from the life
of St. John (Vasari says from the lives of the Evangelists)
are even more interesting than the panels just mentioned.
It appears from the few words Vasari devotes to the Sacristy
that Donatello also painted views upon the ceiling, but no
trace remains. The incidents depicted in the roundels are
St. John's Apotheosis, Martyrdom, and Sojourn on Patmos,
and the Raising of Drusiana. There are landscapes and
architectural backgrounds ; many figures are introduced,
and there is a good deal of nude study. We also notice a
feature of frequent occurrence — a trick of giving depth to
the scene and vividness to the foreground, by letting figures
be cut off short by the frames. Men seem to be standing
on the spectator's side of the relief, and only appear at the
point where they can be partly included in the composition.
The field becomes one that would be included within the
range of vision as seen through a round window or tele-
scope. Mantegna made great use of this idea. The more

THE BRONZE DOORS 135

one looks at these eight medallions the more one regrets
their present condition : washing is all that is required.
If they could be carefully cleaned we would certainly find
details of interest, and in all probability facts of import-
ance. The frieze of angels1 heads which surrounds the
Sacristy is of secondary interest, as there are only two
different cherubs, which are reproduced by moulds all along
its entire length. Signs of gilding and colour are still
visible. Pretty as they are, these angels cannot challenge
comparison with the Pazzi frieze or with Donatello^
similar work elsewhere — for instance, on the base of the
Cantoria or upon the Or San Michele niche. The marble
balustrade of the altar may have been designed by
Donatello. The Sacristy shows how well adapted terra-
cotta was for decoration on a large scale. But Donatello
was too wise to cover the walls with his reliefs, as is the
case in the Capella Pellegrini at Verona. Here the sculpture
is used to decorate the chapel walls, there the walls are
merely used to uphold the sculpture.

The There is no more instructive study than the

Bronze bronze doors of Italian churches. They are the
earliest specimens of bronze casting to be found
in Italy of Christian times ; they show the gradual transi-
tion from Eastern to Western forms of art, and they were
usually made by the most prominent sculptor of the day.
Their size is considerable, they are frequently dated, and
their condition is often extraordinarily good. Donatello,s
are relatively small, but they adhere to the best traditions.
Excluding the great doors made by Luca della Robbia
for the Sacristy of the Duomo, these in San Lorenzo are

136 DONATELLO

among the latest which were produced according to the
ancient model and the correct idea. Thenceforward the
doors ceased to be doors; the reliefs ceased to show the
qualities of bronze, and disregarded the principles of
sculpture. Donatello made two pairs of doors, one on
either side of the altar. The doors open in the middle ;
there are thus four long-hinged panels of bronze, and each
panel has five reliefs upon it. It is doubtful if the most
archaic doors in Italy show such uniformity of design, for
all the twenty bronze reliefs illustrate one single theme,
namely, the conversation of two standing men. The panels
simply consist of two saints, roughly sketched in somewhat
low-relief upon an absolutely flat background : there is
great variety in the drapery, and some of the figures might
come out of thirteenth-century illuminations. Never was
a monotonous motive invested with such variety of treat-
ment : never was simplicity better attained by scrupulous
elimination. Donatello's symmetrical idea had been
previously employed, and Torrigiano put his figures in
couples on what Bacon called one of the " stateliest and
daintiest monuments of Europe.""* Luca della Robbia
put his figures in threes on the Cathedral gates, a seated
figure in the centre, with a standing figure on either side.
But Donatello had to make twice as many panels as Luca.
Martyrs, apostles and confessors are talking on the San
Lorenzo doors. Thus St. Stephen shows the stone of his
martyrdom to St. Laurence. Elsewhere St. Peter's move-
ment suggests that he is upbraiding his fellow, for the
argument excites these saints. They gesticulate freely ;
martyrs seem to fence with their palm-leaves. One
will turn away abruptly, another will pay sudden attention
* " Life of Henry VII.," ed. 1825, iii. 417.

BRONZE DOORS
SAN LORENZO, FLORENCE

THE BRONZE DOORS 137

to his book, while his companion continues to talk. One
man slaps his book to clinch the discussion, another jots
down a note ; two others are ending their controversy and
prepare to leave — in opposite directions. But, though
these are literal descriptions of the scenes, there is no
levity ; everything is ordained according to Donatello's
strict formula. He was none the less determined to adhere
to the old conventional and non-pictorial treatment of the
gates, and at the same time to give animation to every
panel. In this he has succeeded, but the symmetrical
arrangement in pairs preserves a decorum in spite of the
vigorous movement pictured on the doors. These doors
open and shut : they were meant to do so, especially to shut.
Ghiberti's second pair of doors for the Baptistery do not
shut : they are closed, but they do not give the sense of
shutting anything in or keeping anything out. They are
more like windows than doors. They give no impression
of defence or resistance : they are doors in nothing but
name, and the chance that they hang on hinges. Were it
merely a contest between Ghiberti and Donatello as to
which sculptor were the more skilled constructor of doors,
further comment would be unprofitable ; but it raises the
wider question of the laws and limitations of bas-relief —
the application to sculpture of the principles of painting ;
in short, the broad line of demarcation between two
different arts. Michael Angelo probably realised the unity
of the arts better than Donatello, but Donatello knew
enough to treat sculpture with due respect : he valued it
too highly to confuse the issue by pictorial embellishments.
It is no question of a convention, still less of a canon.
But there are inherent boundaries between the two arts ;
and where the boundaries are overstepped, one or the

138 DONATELLO

other art must lose some of its essential quality and charm.
Donatello1s reliefs at Padua are crowded : Ghiberti's (on
the second gates) are overcrowded. The difference in
degree produces a difference in principle. If Ghiberti had
made pictures instead of reliefs, the atmosphere would keep
the objects in their right places, while differences of colour
would give distinction to certain parts and the chief figures
would still predominate. In other reliefs Ghiberti lavished
so much care on landscape and architecture that the figures
become of secondary importance : on one relief a tree casts
its shadow on a cloud.* Ghiberti, in fact, with all his
plastic elegance, with a grace, suavity and sense of beauty
which Donatello never approached, was a painter at heart.
" Vanimo mio alia pittura era in grande parte volto" he
says in his Commentary ,f and the faults of his sculpture are
due to this versatility. Donatello only used his pictorial
knowledge to perfect form and feature; and, complex as his
architectural backgrounds often are, they never suggest ex-
periments in perspective, and they never detract from the
primacy of the people and the incident. Michael Angelo
was under no illusion on this point: he never confused paint-
ing and sculpture. Yet he said Ghiberti's gates would be
worthy portals of paradise. " Ce n1 est pas la seul sotiise qu'on
luijasse dire" drily remarked the Chevalier des Brosses ; \
and, curiously enough, about the time that Michael Angelo
made his famous Judgment, an amateur of the day made
a much shrewder criticism, long since forgotten, that the
doors would be adequate to stand at the gates of Purgatory :
— " sarebbon bastanti a stare alle porte del Purgatorial §

* See Westmacott's lectures on Sculpture, II. III., Athenteum, 1858.
t 2nd Comm. Vasari, I. xxx. J Letter of 1739, p. 186.

§ 17, viii. 1549, Antonio Doni, printed in Bottari, iii. 341.

THE LIMITATIONS OF SCULPTURE 139

The ambiguity is not without humour. Sculpture, indeed,
had no reason to ape or imitate painting. Sculpture, in
fact, was in advance of painting during the first half
of the fifteenth century. Donatello, Luca della Robbia,
Jacopo della Quercia, and Ghiberti were greater men
in sculpture than their contemporaries in painting. The
arts were in rivalry ; the claim for precedence was
zealously canvassed. The sculptors claimed superiority
because their art was older, because statuary has more
points of view than one. You can walk round it, while a
picture has only one light and one view. Moreover, the
argument of utility applies most to sculpture, which can
be used for tombs, columns, fountains, caryatides, &c.
Sculpture has finality, for, though it takes longer to make,
it cannot be constantly altered like a picture. While
all arts try to imitate nature, sculpture gives the actual
form, but painting only its semblance. A man born blind
has a sense of touch which gives him pleasure from sculp-
ture, which is better suited to theology, which has greater
durability, and so forth. The painter replied that, if a
statue has more than one point of view, a picture contain-
ing many figures can give even greater variety. Then the
argument of utility denies the essence of art, which is to
imitate nature, not to adorn brackets and pilasters ; but
even if decoration be an end in itself, painting can be used
where sculpture would be too heavy. The painter con-
tinues that his art requires higher training in such things
as atmosphere and perspective. . As to the greater durabi-
lity of sculpture, the material and not the art is responsible ;
but, in any case, painting lasts long enough to be worth
achieving. Finally, sculpture cannot always imitate nature :
the sense of colour can make a sunset, a storm at sea,

140 DONATELLO

moonlight, landscape and human emotions, which are best
translated by varying colour and light. The controversy is
unsettled to this day.* The wise man, like Donatello,
selected his art and never overstepped the boundary.

The The bronze statue of Judith was probably made

Judith. shortly before Donatello's journey to Padua.
It is his only large bronze group, and its faults are ac-
centuated by the most unfortunate position it occupies in
the lofty Loggia de1 Lanzi. It was meant to be the
centrepiece of some large fountain. The triangular base,
and the extremities of the mattress on which Holofernes
sits, have spouts from which the water would issue, though
the bronze is not worn away by the action of water. As
we see the statue now, it looks small and dwarfed. In a
courtyard it would look far more imposing, and when it
came from Donatello's workshop, placed upon a pedestal
designed for it, its present incongruities would have been
absent. For instance, the feet of Holofernes would have
been upheld by something from below, as the marks
in the bronze indicate. With all its disadvantages, the
statue is extremely interesting. Judith stands over Holo-
fernes. With her left hand she holds him up by clutching
his hair : her right arm is uplifted, in which she holds the
sword. The action seems arrested during a moment of
suspense : one doubts if the sword will ever fall. Judith,
who was the ideal of courage and beauty, seems to hesitate ;
there is nothing to show that her arm is meant to descend,

* These dialogues will be found at great length in Borghini, Vasari,
Leonardo da Vinci, Alberti, &c. Castiglione also devotes a canto of the
" Cortegiano " to the subject.

JUDITH
LOGGIA DEI LANZI, FLORENCE

THE JUDITH 141

except her inexorable face — and even that is full of sadness
and regrets. It is more dramatic that this should be
so. Cellini's Perseus close by has already committed his
murder. The crisis has passed, the blood spurts from the
severed head and trunk of the Medusa ; so we have squalid
details instead of the overpowering sense of impending
tragedy. With Cellini there was no room for mystery :
no imagination could be left to the spectator. " Celui qui
nous diet tout nous saousle et nous degouste? Holof ernes is
an amazing example of Donatello's power. He is a really
drunken man : we see it in the comatose fall of the limbs,
in the drooping features, the languid inanition of the arms.
The veins throb in his hands and feet : the spine has ceased
to be rigid, and were it not for the support of Judith's
hands buried in his hair, he would topple over inanimate.
The treatment of the bronze is successful and its patina is
admirable. Judith's drapery, it is true, has a restless
crackling appearance. It is furrowed into small and rather
fussy folds, almost suggesting, like the figures of the
Parthenon pediment, the pleats of wetted linen on a lay
figure. Judith's arm is overweighted by the heavy sleeve.
There are, however, pleasing details, especially the band
of embroidery over her breast decorated with the flying
putti; and her veil, Michael Angelesque in its way, is treated
with skill and distinction. The base consists of three
bronze reliefs joined into a triangle, separated at each angle
by a narrow bronze plaque, beyond which is a curved
pilaster giving extra support to the figures above. These
reliefs are bacchic in idea and Renaissance in execution.
Children dance, play and sleep around the mask from
which the jet of water would issue. These reliefs, much
inferior to the bronze capital at Prato, have been over-

142 DONATELLO

rated. As a group the Judith is not really successful. It
is a pile of figures, less telling in some ways than the
Abraham and Isaac, though, having no niche, it has to
undergo the severer test of criticism from every aspect.
But before Michael Angelo the Italian free-standing group
was tentative. Even in Michael Angelo's sculpture, when
we consider its massive scale, the extent and number of
his commissions, and the ease with which he worked his
material, it is astonishing how few free-standing groups
were made. His grouping was applied to the relief. The
free group is, of course, the most comprehensive vehicle of
intensified emotion or action ; it gives an opportunity of
doubling or trebling the effect on the spectator. Sculpture
has never realised to the full the chances offered by grouped
plastic art of heroic proportions. Classical groups cannot
be fairly judged by the Laocoon, the Farnese Bull, or even
the Niobe reliefs. Their theatrical character is so patent,
that it is obvious how far inferior they must be to the work
of greater men whose genuine productions have perished.
But, even so, the group being the medium through which
emotions could be intensified to the uttermost, it is not
necessary to assume that they were common in classical
times; partly owing to the technical difficulties and expense,
and partly owing to their disinclination to make sculpture
interpret profound impressions, mental or intellectual.

There are only four life-sized statues of women by
Donatello: this Judith, the Magdalen, the St. Justina,
and the Madonna at Padua. The Dovizia is lost, and she
was treated as an emblematic personage. These figures
and the statuettes at Siena show that, although not ac-
customed to make female statues, Donatello was perfectly
competent to do so. The little Eve, on the back of the

THE JUDITH 143

Madonna's throne at Padua — the only nude figure of a
woman he ever made, and here only in relief — is exquisite
in sentiment and form. The statue of Judith had an
adventurous life. After the revolution in 1495, the group
was removed from the Medici palace to the Ringhiera of
the Palazzo Pubblico, and the words of warning against
tyranny were engraved on its new base : "Exemplum salutis
publico? dives posuere^ 1495.1' Judith was the type of
nationalism, the heroine of a war of independence : and
this mark of the Florentine love of liberty has lasted to
our own day. No Medici dared to obliterate the ominous
words. Donatello was not much in politics : his father
had taken too violent a share in the feuds of his day, and
narrowly escaped execution. Nor was Donatello's art
coloured by politics : the Florentines did not give com-
missions like the Sienese for allegorical representations of
the life and duties of citizenship. Differing from Michael
Angelo, Donatello made no Brutus ; he did not concentrate
the political tragedies of his day into a Penseroso and a
group of statues full of grave symbolical protests against
the statecraft of his time ; and, except for the accidental
loss of Judith's pedestal, Donatello's art never suffered from
the curse of politics. Michael Angelo was always surrounded
by the pitfalls of intrigue and politics: some of his work was
sacrificed in consequence. The colossal statue of Pope Julio
was hurled from its place on the facade of San Petronio,
Maestro Arduino the engineer, having covered the 'ground
where it was to fall with straw and fascines, in order that no
damage should be done — to the pavement ! And the broken
statue was sent away to Ferrara, where it was converted into
a big cannon, which they felicitously christened Juliana ! *
* Gotti, "Vita," i. 66.

144 DONATELLO

The Mag- We have now to consider a group of rugged
dalen and statues differing in date but animated by the
Statues same motive, the Magdalen in Florence and
three statues of St. John the Baptist in Siena,
Venice, and Berlin. Of these, the Magdalen in the
Baptistery at Florence is the most typical and the most
uncompromising. She stands upright, a mass of tattered
rags, haggard, emaciated, almost toothless. Her matted
hair falls down in thick knots ; all feminine softness has
gone from the limbs, and nothing but the drawn muscles
remain. It is a thin wasted form, piteous in expression,
painful in all its ascetic excess. The Magdalen has, of
course, been the subject of hostile criticism. It gives a
shock, it inspires horror : it is an outrage on every well-
clothed and prosperous sinner.* In point of fact, Donatello's
summary method of carving the wood has given a harsh-
ness and asperity to features which in themselves are not
displeasing. In a dimmed light, or looking with unfocused
eyes on the reproduction, it is clear that the structural
lines of the face were once well favoured. But from the
beginning the Magdalen was a work which made a profound
impression, and its popularity is measured by the number
of statues of a like nature. Charles VIII. wanted to buy
it in 1498, but the Florentines thought it priceless and hid
it away. Two years later they had the bronze diadem
added by Jacopo Sogliani.f Finally, at a period when
this type of sculpture with all its appeal to the traditions

* Rumour was very severe. "Elle m'a four toujours ddgodtede la peni-
tence," sighed Des Brosses. This inimitable person was the critic who,
after visiting the Arena chapel at Padua, observed that nowadays one
would scarcely employ Giotto to paint a tennis-court.

t Richa, III., xxxiii.

ST. MARY MAGDALEN
BAPTISTERY, FLORENCE

THE MAGDALEN AND SIMILAR STATUES 145

of the Thebaid, was least likely to have been acceptable in
art or exemplar, the statue was placed in a niche above an
altar erected on purpose for its reception, where an inscrip-
tion testifies to the regard in which it was then held.*
This Magdalen is didactic in purpose. Donatello seems to
have given less attention to the modelling, subtle as it is,
than to the concentration of the one absorbing lesson which
was to be conveyed to the spectator. His object was to
show repentance, abject unqualified remorse ; purified by
suffering, refined by bodily hardship, and sustained by the
" sun of discipline and virtue." There is no luxury in this
Magdalen, but she may have contributed to the reaction
when Pompeo Battoni and the like transformed her into an
opulent personage, dressed in purple, who reclines in some
luscious glade while simpering over a bible. By then art
had ceased to know how penitence could be decently por-
trayed, and the penitent was not long a genuine subject
of art. The Greeks, of course, had no penitent or ascetic
in their theocracy : even the cynic scarcely found a place
in their art. In Italy the Thebaids of Lorenzetti are
among the earliest versions ; the sculpture of the following
century brought it still more home to the public, and then
the true mediaeval sentiment upon which this and similar
works were founded vanished and has never reappeared.
The date of the Magdalen has provoked a good deal of
controversy : whether it was made immediately before or
after the visit to Padua cannot be determined. But the
statue has so many features in common with the Siena
Baptist of 1457 that one can most safely ascribe it to
some date after Donatello1s return to Florence. It is

* The inscription is : " Votis publicis S. Mariae Magdalenae simulacrum
ejus insigne Donati opus pristino loco elegantiario repositum anno 1735."

146 DONATELLO

certainly more easy to justify the Magdalen from the
pulpits of San Lorenzo than from anything made before
his journey to Northern Italy. One misapprehension may
be removed. It is argued that the Magdalen cannot be
posterior to Padua on the ground that by 1440 Donatello
had ceased to work in any material but soft and ductile
clay, which was converted into bronze by his assistants.
The argument is that of one who probably thinks that the
Entombment at Padua is made of terra-cotta, and who
forgets that Donatello executed a number of works in stone
for the Marchese Gonzaga about 1450.*

The statues of St. John at Siena, Berlin, and Venice f
are closely analogous to the Magdalen. St. John is the
ascetic prophet who spent years in seclusion, returning
from the desert to preach repentance. These three figures
have one curious feature in common — a flavour of the
Orient. The St. John is some fakir, some Buddhist saint.
Asiatic as the Baptist was, it is seldom that Italian art
gave him so Eastern a type ; but the explanation is simply
that Donatello evolved his own idea of what a self-centred
and fasting mystic would resemble, and his conception
happens to coincide with the outcome of similar conditions
actually put into practice elsewhere. The Berlin bronze
is St. John as Baptist, the others show him with the scroll
as Precursor. He always wears the camers-hair tunic,
which ends just below the knee ; at Siena it is thick, like
some woolly fleece ; it conceals and broadens the frame,
thus suggesting a stoutness which is not warranted by the

* See p. 199. Moreover, in 1458 Donatello accepted a commission
at Siena for a marble San Bernardino. And the Anonimo Morelliano
mentions four other marble reliefs at Padua.

t Siena Cathedral, bronze ; Berlin Museum, bronze ; Frari Church,
Venice, wood.

ST. JOHX THE BAPTIST

FRARI CHIRCH, VENICE

STATUES OF THE BAPTIST 147

size of the leg. The modelling of legs and arms in these
statues is noteworthy. They are thin, according to
Donatello's idea of his subject ; and though the thinness
takes the natural form of slender circumference, one sees
that the limb with its angular modelling and its flat sur-
faces has become thin : the thinness is explained by the
character. The feet of the Siena bronze are exceptionally
good ; the wrist and forearm of the Venice figure are
admirable. The Siena Baptist is nearly life-sized, and was
made in 1457. He is the least introspective of the three,
a mature strong man, and the oldest of the many Baptists
Donatello made. The Berlin figure is the flushed eccentric,
holding up the cup he used in baptizing. The figure is
half the size of life, and was doubtless one of the numerous
statuettes which crowned fonts. It has been suggested
that this bronze, which is defective in several places, was
Commissioned for the Cathedral of Orvietoin 1423.* But
the type would appear more advanced than the busts on
the Mandorla doorway or the Siena work made about this
time. Moreover, the contract specifies a St. John cum
signo cruets et demonstratione ecce agnus Dei. A Baptist
was made at the same time for Ancona, and is now lost.
On first seeing the St. John in Venice one's impres-
sion is to laugh. But he is not really a wild man of the
woods — he is simply covered with and made grotesque by
thick masses of oil paint. A close examination of the
figure shows that in some places the paint is over a quarter
of an inch thick, and the last coating it has received is
glutinous in quality, and has been laid on with such free-
dom that the position and shape of certain features are

* io, ii. 1423. On 29, iv. 1423, Donatello received 5 lbs. 3 oz. of wax
for modelling the figure. Luzi, "Duomo di Orvieto," 1867, p. 406.

148 DONATELLO

altered. But if seen close at hand, the statue (which it is
understood will shortly be cleaned) shows distinct merits.
The modelling of the extremities is good, and though it is
clear that Donatello was never quite willing to treat
St. John as on a par with the other Saints, we have a
systematic and generic rendering of his idea. In some
measure painting was needed as a preservative for wood
statues, otherwise it is difficult to justify the covering of a
fine material by paint which cannot do justice to itself,
while it must hide the refinements of the carving. Dona-
tello worked but little in wood. Crucifixes were commonly
made of it, but the material was one which could never
receive quella carnositd, and morbidezza* of marble or metal.
The Greeks limited their use of it to garden and woodland
themes : the Egyptians used it but little, because they had
so few trees. In Donatello's time it was popular, and came
to be regarded as a distinct art. Thus the Sienese wood-
carvers were forbidden to work in stone,f but the great
masters like Donatello did not strictly adhere to the rules,
and did not refrain from invading the art of the wood-
carver. There is a large class of statues derived from the
four just described. One of these, attributed to Donatello,
is the St. Jerome at Faenza, also made of wood.J Choco-
late-coloured paint has been ladled all over the body. The
beard is faint lavender, and the canvas loin-cloth is blue.
The pose and expression are mannered. It is usual to
dismiss it in an offhanded way as a bad and later work ;

* Vasari, i. 147.

t Che niuno maestro di legname possa fare di pietra. Rules of Sculptors
of Sienna, 1441, ch. 39. Milanesi, i. 120.

J In Museum. From the Capella Manfredi in San Girolamo degli
Osservanza outside the town, suppressed in 1866. Cf. two similar
statuettes in terra-cotta, Bargello, Nos. 174 and 175.

THE ALTAR AT PADUA 149

but the modelling shows signs of skill, and until the paint
is removed it is useless to make guesses. Two bronze
statuettes of the Baptist * are distinctly Donatellesque, and
made about 1450, though it is impossible to assign them
with certainty to the master himself. Miehelozzo's versions
of St. John at Montepulciano, on the Cathedral altar in
Florence, and in the Annunziata, show the influence of
Donatello ; but the Baptist is a milder prophet, and no
longer the hermit. In the Scalzi at Florence there is a
Baptist which is typical of many others of the same cha-
racter. The Magdalen was less copied than the St. John.
The version nearest Donatello himself is in London, a
large grim bust ; f in the same collection is a relief of her
apotheosis, and the Louvre possesses a similar work.J
Neither of the latter is by Donatello himself, but they
recall his influence. § The large Magdalen in Santa Trinita
at Florence is a good example of the bottega.

The Altar Donatello was fifty-seven when he left Florence
at Padua. jn 1443 to spend ten eventful years at Padua.
There he carried out his masterpieces of bronze for the
Cathedral and the equestrian statue of Gattamelata on the
Piazza opposite Donatello^ little house, which to this
day is occupied, appropriately enough, by a carver —
Bortolo Slaviero, tagliapietra. It is now established

* Louvre, about 12 inches high, unnumbered. Museo Archeologico,
Venice, No. 8. Frau Hainauer's bronze Baptist, signed by Francesco di
San Gallo, is interesting in this connection.

t Victoria and Albert Museum, No. 157, 1894.

X Ibid. No. 7605, 1861, terra-cotta. Louvre, No. 465, ditto.

§ Cf. Herr von Beckerath's in Berlin, and the Verrochio-school
Magdalen in the Berlin Gallery, No. 94.

150 DONATELLO

that Donatello was invited to Padua for the Church and
that the Gattamelata was not commissioned until later.*
At this time Padua was a centre of humanistic learning
and intellectual activity. There was a hive of anti-
quarians and collectors, and, according to its lights, a
thriving school of painters.t The Florentine Palla Strozzi
was living there in retirement, and he may have been
partly responsible for the invitation to Donatello. But
the indigenous art of Padua was dependent on Venice,
and needed some fertilising element. Squarcione with his
140 pupils founded his art upon traditional and conven-
tional data : had it not been for Donatello and the radical
changes which resulted from his sojourn at Padua, a
fossilised school would have become firmly rooted, and
would probably have influenced the whole of the Veneto.
Mantegna was still young when Donatello arrived, and
though there is no reason to suppose that he received work
from Donatello as Squarcione did, it is clear that, without
this influx of Southern ideas, he would have had some
difficulty in shaking off the conventionalisms of his home.
But though Donatello,s immediate influence on Paduan
art was decisive (and its ramifications soon extended to
Venice), he was himself influenced by his fresh surroundings,
and his native bent towards complexity was increased. He
assimilated many of the local likes and dislikes. If
Gattamelata had been erected in some Florentine square
there would have been less ornament ; if Colleone had been
commissioned for Siena there would have been less braga-
doccio. Leonardo never recovered his Tuscan frame of

* MichaeliAngelo Gloria ; Donatello Fiorentino e le sue opere ... a
Padova, 1895, from which the dates are all quoted,
t See Kristeller's Mantegna, translated by S. A. Strong, 1901, p. 17.

THE ALTAR AT PADUA 151

mind after his sojourn in Milan. Donatello himself
realised these novelties to the full, and their results upon
his art. While he was making the intricate bas-reliefs, the
selective genius of Luca della Robbia was composing the
Florence Lunettes,* monumental in their simplicity. And
though Vasari records the enthusiasm with which Donatello's
productions were greeted in the North, the sculptor recog-
nised the dangers of unqualified praise, and said he must
return home to Florence to receive criticism and censure,
the stimulus to better work and greater glory. But the
maggwre gloria was not to be attained. He was old when
he left Padua, and on his departure he had completed the
greatest undertaking of his career — the High Altar of
the Santo, with all its marble setting and the bronze figures.
A crucifix, the Madonna and Child, six saints, a Pieta,
twelve panels of angels, four reliefs of St Anthony's
Miracles, the Symbols of the Evangelists, and a large marble
Entombment. Donatello's altar was unfortunately dis-
mantled in the seventeenth century, and the statues were
dispersed throughout the Church. The altar was recon-
structed a few years ago, and the bronzes have suffered
during their exile, but they are still in good preservation.
The new marble altar is a thoughtful and painstaking
construction ; its details are derived from Donatellesque
motives, and the bronzes are fitted in with skill. It cannot,
however, be in any sense a reproduction of the old altar,
of which no drawing is preserved. And the earliest
description, which has been carefully followed as far as
circumstances allow, shows that the existing sculpture is
incomplete : at least four marble reliefs have been lost.f
* Over the Sacristy doors in the Cathedral.
Anonimo Morelliano (1520-40). Ed. of Bassano, 1800, p. 3. E da

152 DONATELLO

One may further remark that the twelve angels in high
relief, now forming the face of the altar frontal, are so
designed, especially as regards their aureoled heads, that one
concludes it must have been Donatello's intention for them
to have been looked up to rather than looked down upon.
The present arrangement of the altar is simple and effective.
The frontal itself is composed of children singing and
playing music. In the centre is the Pieta, and on either
side is an Evangelist's symbol flanked by two saints on the
level of the top of the altar. The retable has two miracle
reliefs, and between them a small bronze Christ, which has
been put there in error. Above the retable is the Madonna
with two saints on either side : the crucifix surmounts
the whole composition. The back of the altar has the
remaining Miracle reliefs and Evangelist symbols, together
with the Entombment.

The Large Of the seven large free-standing statues, that of
Statues. the Madonna and Child worthily occupies the
central position. Nobody was more modern than Donatello,
nobody less afraid of innovation. But in this Madonna he
went back to archaic ideas, and we have a conception
analogous to the versions of the two previous centuries :*
indeed, his idea is still older, for there is something Byzan-
tine in this liturgical Madonna, who gazes straight in front
of her, and far down the nave of the Santo — a church
with mosque-like domes, like those of the early Eastern
architects. The Child is seated in her lap, as in the earliest

dietro r altar sotto il scabelh il Crislo morto, con le altre figure a circo, e It due
figure da man destra con le altre due da man sinistra, pur de basso rilevo, ma de
marmo, furono de mano de Donatelio.

* Cf., for instance, the Madonna over the door of the Pisa Baptistery.

THE LARGE STATUES 153

representation of the subject : here, however, the Christ is
a child, with an element of helplessness almost indicated,
whereas the primitive idea had been to show the vigour and
often the features of a biggish boy. Donatello's version is
much more pathetic, as the little Christ raises a tiny hand
in benediction. The Virgin herself is of unequalled
solemnity, while her young and gracious face, exquisite in
expression and contour, is full of queenly beauty. But
there is still this atmosphere of mystery, an enigmatic
aloofness in spite of the warm human sentiment. The
Sphinx's faces, with all their traditions of secrecy, contribute
their share to the cryptic environment. Donatello uses
them as the supports of the throne on which the Madonna
is seated ; behind it are Adam and Eve in relief: in front
she herself shows the New Adam to the multitude, on
whom he confers his blessing. St. Francis of Padua stands
on the right of the Madonna, as founder of the Order, and
taking precedence of St. Anthony, to whom the church is
dedicated. He holds the crucifix and the book of rules.
He is draped in the ordinary Franciscan habit, which falls
round his feet, giving a stiffness to the figure as seen in
profile, and making him appear rather short when seen
from the front. The workmanship is good, the hands,
with lightly shown stigmata, being excellent ; but the lack
of distinction in the figure makes one look more closely at
the head, which is modelled with great power and freedom,
showing that Donatello still possessed the vigour and
penetration for which the Campanile prophets are notable.
The head is full of character ; not perhaps what one would
expect from the apostle of self-abnegation : but it is
determined, strong in the mouth and broad chin. It was,
of course, only meant to be seen a few feet from the ground,

154 DONATELLO

and the lines do not compare in depth with the Habbakuk
or the Zuccone ; but there is none the less an analogy in
the manner by which Donatello calls in the assistance of
light and shade to add tone and finish to the modelling.
St. Anthony was a deservedly popular saint in Padua,
where he preached and denounced the local tyrant ; and he
may be accounted the greatest man of Portuguese birth.
But Donatello does not seem to have found the subject
very inspiring. He has taken his idea from rather an
ordinary friar such as he or we might see any day. It is a
good homely face, neither worldly nor spiritual, and
only redeemed from the commonplace by technical ability.
St. Daniel is more interesting ; the young deacon is ex-
tremely well posed, the plain and massive features being
drawn with a firm and confident touch; and the deacon's
vestments, which always take an easy and becoming fall, are
decorated in a typical way with winged children arbitrarily
introduced, and looking more like the detail of some bas-
relief than a piece of embroidered ornament. St. Justina
wears the coronet as princess, and bears the palm-leaf as
martyr. She has no pronounced characteristic, the face being
rather unemotional ; but the gesture of her outstretched
hand is not without an appealing dignity. The hair, like
that of the Madonna, is parted in the centre, and stands off
from the forehead, and then falls in rich tresses about her
shoulders. It has not the soft and silken texture of the
Madonna's hair, which is rendered with as great a skill as
one sees in the Virgin of the Annunciation. In both these
latter cases Donatello succeeds in giving to the hair an
indescribable suggestion of something full of elasticity and
lustre. But St. Justina's hair at least grows : so many
sculptors of ability failed to indicate that needful quality.

THE LARGE STATUES 155

St. Procdocimus and St. Louis are of subordinate merit,
and show the work of assistants in several particulars. The
former was first Bishop of Padua and converted the father
of St. Justina to Christianity. At first sight the statue
is pleasing, but on closer examination the weaknesses,
especially in the face, become marked. There is indeci-
sion, not in the pose or general idea, but in the details
which give character to the whole conception. The features
are chiselled by a small mesquin personality, and what
might have been a fine statue if carried out by Donatello
has been ruined by his assistants. The ewer which the
Bishop carries is a later addition, from the design of which
one might almost argue that the statue itself is later than
the others.* The St. Louis, wearing his episcopal robes
above the Franciscan habit, his mitre decorated with a
fleur-de-lys of royal France, is also hammered all over,
giving the bronze the appearance of being dotted with
little pin-holes. The head is, however, marked by the
grave austerity for which the St. Louis in Santa Croce is
so remarkable, and which became the typical rendering of
the saint in fifteenth-century plastic art. However
much Donatello may have allowed a free hand to his
assistants in this statue, the fine qualities of the head are
attributable to a strict adherence to his own sketch. The
last of the great bronze figures is the crucifix above the
high altar. It is magnificent, apart from the technical
qualities which rival Donatello,smost brilliant achievements.
All the lines droop together in a wonderful cadenza ; the
face is transfigured by human pain, but all the superhuman
power remains. Donatello combines the literal and

* Cf. drawings of ewers in Uffizzi by Giacomone da Faenza, sixteenth
century.

156 DONATELLO

symbolical meaning of the Cross ; the Godhead is still
there. Donatello did not forget that the crucified Christ,
when represented by the sculptor, had to preserve all the
immortality of the Son of God. His contadino Christ in
Florence has its interest in art; this Christ marks the
summit of his plastic ability; but it shows that, without any
appeal to terror or emotionalism, without, indeed, suppress-
ing the signs of physical pain, Donatello was able to give
an overwhelming portrait of Christ's agony. The celestial
and the terrestrial are unified and fused into one tremendous
concentration of human suffering, tempered by divine power.

The The four panels of Miracles take the highest

Bronze rank among Donatello's bas-reliefs. Their size
is considerable, being about four feet long.
They have one theme in common, namely, the supernatural
gifts of St. Anthony and the veneration of the populace.
Donatello's crowds are admirable ; they are deep crowds.
The people are rather hot and jostling each other: they
stand on benches or stairs in order to get a better view of
what is proceeding. The edges of the crowds, where the
people are too far off to be active spectators, lose interest in
the central incident ; they gossip as bystanders or sit down:
often they are shown actually leaving the place. It is singular
how ill-designed many of the classical crowds are, espe-
cially the battle-scenes : they are constructed without regard
for the human necessity of standing on something ; and we
have grotesque topsy-turvy compositions, the individual
parts of which are unrivalled in technique.* Michael

* Cf. Battle of Romans and Barbarians, No. 12. Museo Nazionale,
Rome.

THE BRONZE RELIEFS 157

Angelo's first and last representation of a crowd in sculp-
ture shows the same fault, which, indeed, was far from
uncommon.* It arose from a desire to show more of
the crowd than could be naturally seen from the eye
level, and the whole relief was consequently covered
with figures, the background proper being suppressed.
In these Paduan reliefs Donatello manages to give ample
density and variety, and there is never any doubt as
to the ownership of legs or arms. His early relief at
Siena, on the other hand, has a group where there is
confusion, which is not justified in a quiet gathering of
people. Another feature which the four reliefs have in
common is Donatello's treatment of narrative. Ghiberti's
plan was to put several incidents into one relief, forming a
sequence of events leading up to the critical episode, to
which he usually gave the best place in the foreground.
He consistently followed up his formula in the second gates,
and brought the practice to its perfection. Whether suit-
able or not for gates, it would have been an intelligible
treatment of purely decorative reliefs, like those at Padua.
Donatello, however, confines his plaques to single incidents :
in one case only does he add a second detail, and there only
as a corroborative fact. The narrative is shown in the
crowd itself. Attitudes and expression are made to reflect
the spirit of what has gone before, while the actual occur-
rence suffices to show the final issue of the story. Thus
we have all the ideas of which others would have made a
series of subordinate scenes : incredulity, fear, surprise,
mockery, apathy and worship. The crowd shows everything
which has already passed, and the composition of the bas-
reliefs thus secures a striking homogeneity. It is difficult to
* Battle, Casa Buonarotti, Florence.

158 DONATELLO

say which of them is best. The variety in dress, scene and
physiognomy is so remarkable ; varying, no doubt, accord-
ing to the tastes of the garzone responsible for finishing it.
Probably the miracle of the Speaking Babe is the best
known. A nobleman of Ferrara doubted the honour of
his wife ; St. Anthony conferred the power of speech on
her infant child, which proclaimed its mother's innocence.
Donatello has put an exquisite little Madonna and Child
just above the central figures of the legend. The composi-
tion of this group, as in the others, is broken by the archi-
tecture, otherwise the length of the bronzes might have
tended to a monotonous row of figures. But the projecting
background does not make the episode less coherent. The
mother is just receiving back her baby from the saint ;
behind her are women, friends and others ; whereas the
opposite side of the relief is entirely occupied by men, who
are around her husband ; and the suggested conflict of the
sexes is averted by the miracle. The husband, who wears an
odd sort of bonnet tricolore, and several of his comrades are
simply dressed in short cloaks open at the sides and ending
just below the hip. The legs and arms, and especially the
hands, are very well modelled. In this relief the actors are
quiet and decorous, and where not motionless are moving
slowly. The miracle of the Miser's Heart is more emotional :
" where thy heart is there shall thy treasure be also."
The miser having died, St. Anthony said that his heart
would be found in his strong box : this was proved to be
the case, and then when the body was opened it was found
that his heart was absent. The scene is nominally inside a
church : in the background is a procession of clergy and
choristers with their cross and candles. In the centre is
the bier with the corpse lying on it. The body is opened

THE BRONZE RELIEFS 159

and the crowd looks on in feverish though suppressed
excitement. St. Anthony is pointing towards the dead
man : and the crowd realises that the heart is absent — ubi
thesaurus ibi cor. Numbers of people have dropped on to their
knees, others kiss the ground where the saint stands. There
are signs of distress and apprehension on all sides. Some
children scuttle back to their parents ; one of the mothers
bends down to catch her child just as it is going to fall.
Two boys have climbed on to an altar or pedestal to get a
better view : one of them wears the peaked cap still worn by
the undergraduates of Padova la doita. The whole scene is
immensely dramatic and grim, without any frenzy or excess ;
and its solemn effect is enhanced by the reserve of the
people in spite of their excitement. The background is
full of detail, largely obtained by the chisel : one part of it,
with the stairs, ladders and upper storey, resembles the Lille
relief. There are two important inscriptions, cut into the
metal, to which reference will be made later. The subject of
the third relief (now placed on the retable and already
getting dimmed by candle-grease) is the healing of the
youth Leonardo, who kicked his mother and confessed to
St. Anthony, who properly observed that so sinful a foot
should be cut off. The injunction was taken too literally,
and the saint's miraculous power replaced the severed limb.
Strictly speaking, this miracle takes place in the open air,
for Donatello has introduced a rudimentary sun with most
symmetrical rays, and half a dozen clouds which look like
faults in the casting. But the whole relief is framed by an
architectural structure, some amphitheatre with the seats
ranged like steps. A balustrade runs all round the huge
building, and a number of idlers standing about at the far
end are reduced to insignificant proportions, thus giving

160 DONATELLO

distance and depth to the scene. Leonardo lies on the
ground in sad pain, and Anthony has just restored the
foot. The central group is not much animated, but two
or three of the men's heads are telling character-studies.
Donatello has concentrated his crowd into the centre : at
the sides the miracle passes unheeded. A fat man is solilo-
quising with his hand reposing on an ample stomach : a
boy with a long stick and something like a knapsack on his
back is attracting the attention of a young woman, who
seems absorbed in watching the miracle : her child tries to
pull her along to go closer. In the corner are some strange
recumbent figures, almost classical in idea; and a tall
woman completely veiled, with her face buried in her hands.
The last of the reliefs illustrates St. Anthony's power over
animals. One Bovidilla, a sceptic, possessed a mule ; the
saint offered the consecrated wafer to the animal when
starving, and Bovidilla was converted by the refusal of the
animal to eat it. The scene takes place within a church,
which, so far as we see the apse and choir, is composed of
three symmetrical chapels with vaulted and coffered roofs.
There is plenty of classical detail, but still more of the
Renaissance ; there is no occasion to assume the design to
have been copied from the Tempio di Pace or the Caracalla
baths. St. Anthony occupies the centre, and the kneeling
mule is on the right, his master close at hand. The church
is crowded with people, who, on the whole, show more
curiosity than reverence. Several garrulous boys by the
door are amused ; an old beggar hobbles in ; a mother tries
to keep a child quiet. Others take any post they can
secure, and a good many are crouching on the ground in
all sorts of postures, making a variety which amounts to
unevenness. In all these panels the head of St. Anthony

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THE SYMBOLS OF THE EVANGELISTS 161

is of a finer type than that shown in the other version on
the altar. The features are clear cut, and there is an air
of earnest distinction which is not observed on the large
statue. Speaking generally, one notices that while ample
scope is allowed to the fancies of picturesque architecture
in all these reliefs, Donatello always keeps ib within proper
bounds. Donatello was not tempted into the interacting
problems of perspective and intarsia, which caused so many
Paduan artists to lose grasp of the wider aspects of their
calling. Then we notice how the crowd qua crowd plays its
proper part : out of some two hundred faces in these panels
not more than two or three look out to the spectator — a
quality inherited by Mantegna. The reliefs are essentially
local pictures of local significance ; not only the costume,
but the types are Paduan, such as we find in the local
school of painting : but we find nothing of the kind in
Donatello before the journey to the north, and the types
scarcely reappear on the altar of San Lorenzo. But, in
spite of this, the reliefs have a catholicity which extends
their influence far beyond the limits within which Donatello
confined his work. Finally, the wealth of local colouring
and animation makes these reliefs among the earliest in
which " genre " or " conversation " has prominence. They
offer a most striking contrast to the sedate Florentine
crowds painted in the Brancacci chapel by Masaccio.

The There are four other bronze reliefs, the Symbols

Symbols of of the Evangelists. Donatello has contrived
tne van- ^Q jnvesf- these somewhat awkward themes with
alternate drama and poetry. The emblems of
Ezekiel's vision were too intricate for Western art, and long

162 DONATELLO

before the fifteenth century they had been reduced to the
simple forms of the lion, ox, eagle and angel, with no
attribute except wings. All four reliefs are rectangular,
about eighteen inches square. The ox is, of course, the
least inspiring, and here as elsewhere is treated in a dry
perfunctory manner. The oxen on the facade of Laon
Cathedral offered some scope to the sculptor, being life-
sized ; but in a small relief the subject was not attractive.
The lion is more vigorously treated. As a work of
natural history he is better than the Marzocco, and he has a
certain heraldic extravagance as well. The limbs have
tension, the muscles are made of steel, and there is strength
and watchfulness, attributes which led the early architects
to rest the pilasters of the pulpit and portal upon lions1
backs. But the eagle of St. John is superb, even grander
than the famous classical marble of the same subject.* It
has the broad expanse of wings, vibrating as though the
bird were about to take flight : the long lithe body with its
soft pectoral feathers, the striking claws, and the flattened
head with cruel gleaming eye, all combine to give a terri-
bilitci which is, perhaps, unsurpassed in all the countless
versions of the symbol. But the drama of the eagle is
eclipsed by the quiet unostentatious poetry of the angel of
St. Matthew. We see a girl of intense grace and refine-
ment, winged as an angel and looking modestly downwards
to the open gospel in her hands. Delicacy is the keynote
pervading every detail of the relief : in her hands, arms and
throat, in the soft curves of the young frame, and in the
drapery itself, which suggests all that is dainty and pure
— everywhere, in fact, we find charm and tenderness, rare
even in a man like Ghiberti, almost unique in Donatello.
* The Walpole Eagle from the Tiber, belonging to the Earl of Wemyss.

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SYMBOL OF ST. MATTHEW

SANT' ANTONIO, PADUA

THE CHOIR OF ANGELS 163

The Choir In the original contract with Donatello, ten
of Angels, angels were commissioned, and were exhibited
on the provisional wooden altar (13, vi. '48). It ap-
peal's, however, that they were insufficient, and two more
panels were ordered. These may possibly be the reliefs
in each of which a couple of angels are represented
singing, certainly the most successful of all. There is a
palpable inequality in the remainder. They not only
show differences of treatment in the details of drapery,
chiselling and general decoration, but there is a substantial
lack of harmony in their broad conception. It is im-
possible to believe that the two angels leaning inwards
against the edge of the relief (the fourth respectively from
either end of the altar) could have been modelled by
Donatello. Not only are they vulgar and commonplace,
but they are malformed: well might Donatello long for
criticism and censure if these two stupid little urchins
were standards of his production. Next to one of these
pipers is a child playing the lute, delicious in every respect :
he is made by the genius, the other by the hack. They
contrast in every particular — drapery, anatomy, face and
technique. The lutist is admirable as he looks down at
his instrument to catch the note ; capital also is the boy
playing the double pipe, with the close drapery swirling
about his plump limbs, as one sees in San Francesco of
Rimini, that temple dedicated to Isotta and to Childhood.
The head of the boy playing the harp shows the best
characteristics of this group. The hair is relatively short,
and falls in thick glossy ringlets over his ears ; it is bound
by a heavy chaplet of leaves and rosettes ; above this
wreath the hair is smooth and orderly. There was no
occasion to exclude the pleasing little touches, as in the

164 DONATELLO

case of the Cantoria children, where deep holes penetrate
the children's hair, so that the " distance should not con-
sume the diligence.'" At Padua, where the choristers were
to be seen a few feet only from the ground, the sculptor's
efforts to show the warm shades and recesses of the hair
were amply repaid. The boys singing the duets differ
from the remainder : they are busily occupied with their
music, carefully following the score. The disposition of
two children in a panel only large enough for one has not
been so successfully met as when Abraham and Isaac were
fitted into the narrow niche on the Campanile ; but the
affectionate attitude of these boys and their sincerity make
one overlook a slight technical shortcoming. The two
heads in close proximity give a certain sense of atmosphere
between them, not easily rendered when one of them had to
be modelled in comparatively high-relief.

The Pieta The remaining work for the high altar consists
and the of a marble Entombment and a bronze relief of
n °m " Christ mourned by Angels, treated as a Pieta.
The tabernacle door, which occupies the centre
of the high altar, differs in shape, quality and design from
everything else, and is wholly unworthy of its prominent
position. The lower relief is, however, a work of ex-
ceptional interest. It is placed in the centre of the frontal
with the reliefs of choristers on either side of it, a tragic
culmination to all the happy children around it. The
Christ is resting upright in the tomb, half of the figure
only being visible. The head is bowed and the hands
crossed : the face is wan and haggard. The body is
modelled to emphasise the pronounced lines of the big

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CHORISTERS

SANT' ANTONIO, PADUA

CHORISTERS

SANT' ANTONIO, PADUA

THE PIETA AND THE ENTOMBMENT 165

curve formed by the ribs from which the lower part of the
body is fast sinking : Donatello did the same thing with
the crucifix. An angel stands at each side of the Christ,
holding up a curtain or pall behind the figure. Each of
these boys has a hand pressed against his cheek, the picture
of tragedy : they weep over the dead Saviour, their anguish
is indescribable. In the marble version of the same subject
in London,* the angels are actually supporting the Christ,
who, without their maintenance, would fall down. His
head is resting against one of the children's hands : one of
the arms has slipped down inanimate, while the other
hangs over the shoulder of the second angel, a consummate
rendering of what is dead : the veins are tumified, the
skin is shrinking, and the muscles are uncontrolled. This
Christ is in some ways the more remarkable plastic achieve-
ment, though it is not so characteristic as the Paduan
version. The two reliefs are probably coeval, though that
in London, with its attendant angels, has indications of
being rather earlier in date, and almost shows the hand of
Michelozzo in one or two details. But the head of Christ,
with its short thin beard, and the hair held back by a
corded fillet, is similar to much that is exclusively Paduan.
The Entombment, a very large marble relief, consists of
eight life-sized figures, four of whom are lowering the
body into the sepulchre. Here for the first time we have
that frenzied and impassioned scene which became so
common in Northern Italy. The Entombment on the
St. Peter's Tabernacle is insipid by the side of this, where
grief leads the Magdalen to tear out thick handfuls of
her hair ; others throw up their hands as they abandon

* Victoria and Albert Museum, No. 7577, 1861. M. G. Dreyfus has a
fine plaquette analogous to these large reliefs.

166 DONATELLO

themselves, as they scream in ungovernable sorrow. It
is a riot of woe, and the more solemn figures who are
engaged with the dead body have grown grey with care.
This relief dates a new departure : the Entombment and
other episodes of the Passion henceforward lose their calm
emblematic character, and are fraught with tragedy and
gloom. Donatello's relief became the prototype for the
Bellini, for Mantegna, and a host of artists who, without,
perhaps, having seen the original, drew their inspiration
from what it had already inspired. For a while this
intensification of the last scenes of Christ's life bore good
fruit for art, especially in the northern provinces : but
after a certain point nervous exhaustion ensued and pro-
duced a kind of hysteria, where the Magdalen's tears must
end in convulsive laughter, and where the tragedy is so
demonstrative that the solemn element is utterly lost.*
The profound pathos and teaching of the earlier scenes
were exchanged for what was theatrical. But Tragedy
always held a place in Italian, or rather in Christian art :
it was out of place in antiquity. The smiling and peren-
nial youth of the gods, their happinesses, loves, and
adventures, gave relatively small scope for the personal
aspects of tragedy. There was no need for vicarious
or redemptive suffering: what pain existed, and they
rarely expressed it in marble, was human in its origin and
punitive in effect : Icarus, Niobe, Laocoon, Prometheus ;
and even here the proprieties of good taste imposed strict
limits, beyond which the portrayal of tragedy could not go

* C/., for instance, Madame Andre's Pieta lunette, or the stone
"Lamentation " in Victoria and Albert Museum, No. 314, 1878, almost
German in its harsh realism. This came from the Palazzo Lazzara at
Padua.

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HIS ASSISTANTS 167

without violating unwritten laws. It had to occupy a
secondary place in their art : the dying gladiator was
merely a broken toy tossed aside. Their tragedies were
largely limited to Nemesis, the Moirai, the Erinnydes, and
lower forms, such as harpies. But occasionally one gets a
breath of mediaevalism and its haunting mysteries. The
Sleeping Fury at Rome, for instance,* where sleep steals in
during a moment of respite from torture, is superb, and,
moreover, stands almost alone in its presentment of a certain
impelling tragedy, which, with the advent of Christianity,
became an integral and dominating feature of its art.

Donatello's The variety of workmanship at Padua would be
Assistants. an infallible proof that Donatello had the
assistance of a number of disciples, even if we had no
documentary evidence on the point. Bandinelli refers
to their numbers : when needing help he wrote to the
Grand Duke saying that Donatello always had eighteen or
twenty assistants, without whose aid it would have been
impossible for him to have made the Paduan altar.f But we
also possess bills, contracts, and schedules, in which we can
find the names of Donatello's garxoni. The work, it must be
remembered, was not wholly confined to sculpture : among
the earliest recorded payment to Donatello is that for
structural work on the Loggia (30, iii. 1444). Giovanni
Nani of Florence was already engaged there (3, iii. 43) as
a sort of master mason on Donatello's arrival : he made
the marble pedestal for the crucifix (19, vi. 47), and
several others are mentioned in a subordinate capacity,

* In Ludovisi Buoncompagni Collection, Museo Nazionale, marble.
Cf. also the bust of Minatia Polla, so called, which might be by
Verrochio. t y, xii. 1549. Printed in Bottari, ii. 70.

168 DONATELLO

such as Niccolo Cocaro (23, iv. 49), Meo and Pipo of
Florence (30, iv. 49), Antonio of Lugano, taia pria (12,
v. 49) ; Bartolonieo of Ferrara went to Valstagna to open
up the quarry — una rnontagna de lo alabastro (13, viii.
46). Employment was also given to Jacomo, a goldsmith
(9, v. 48), to Squarcione the painter (21, xi. 47), to
Moscatelo, the maker of majolica (v. 49), and to Giovanni
da Becato, who made a metal grille behind the altar.
Francesco del Mayo and Andrea delle Caldiere were the
chief bronze casters; a dozen or fifteen other names are
recorded. None of these can have had much influence on
the sculpture itself ; but there were men of greater calibre,
Giovanni da Pisa, Urbano da Cortona, Antonio Celino
of Pisa, and Francesco Valente of Florence. Though
called garzoni and disipoli of Donatello (June and Sept.
47), they soon became men of trained capacity, and were
specifically mentioned in some of the contracts. Thus it
appears that each was entrusted with one of the evangelists
symbols ; they were also largely responsible for the bronze
choristers (27, iv. 46). Their whims and idiosyncrasies
are visible in many particulars : in the halos for instance.
The gospel emblems all have halos, likewise most of the
singing children, whereas there are none on the Madonna
and the great statues of canonised saints on the altar. But
it is impossible here to enter upon the most interesting
problem of their respective shares on the altar sculpture,
and how far they were independent of Donatello beyond
the chiselling and polishing of the bronze ; the subject
would need discussion at too great length. It is, however,
worth while to refer to some of their work, for which they
were exclusively responsible. Thus the Fulgosio tomb in
the Santo, and the superaltar in the Eremitani at Padua

SUPER ALTAR BY GIOVANNI

EREMITANI CHURCH, PADUA

'ISA

HIS ASSISTANTS 169

(though much disfigured by paint), show that Giovanni da
Pisa was influenced by Donatello to a remarkable degree.
The composition of the altar consists of a broad relief of
the Madonna with three saints on either side of her : below
it is a predella divided into three panels ; above, a frieze of
dancing children similar to those on the pulpits of San
Lorenzo. The composition is crowned by a tympanum
and putti suggested by Donatello's Annunciation. Several
of the larger figures might almost be the work of Donatello,
though the personality of Giovanni makes itself felt
throughout. Urbano of Cortona was another interesting
man. He received a commission to decorate the chapel of
the Madonna delle Grazie in the Sienese Cathedral,* and
he had to make the Symbols of the Evangelists : nel fregio
. . . si debt fare I I II. cvangelisti in forma d'animali.
Donatello himself, excellentissimus sculptor, sen magister
sculturei'f was commissioned later on to work in this chapel ;
but there can be no doubt that the angel of St. Matthew,
now preserved in the Opera del Duomo,J is the work of
Urbano. It is the identical design of the emblem on the
Paduan altar, pleasant in its way, but differing in all the
material elements of charm ; but it is an important docu-
ment in that it shows a further stage in the evolution of
Donatello through the hand of a painstaking pupil. Of
Celino and Valente our knowledge is less — perhaps because
there was never any friction between the master and his
assistants, which gives so unenviable a record to the relation
of Michael Angelo with his pupils. § The two inscriptions

* 19, x. 1451. Milanesi, ii. 271. t 17. x. 1457; ibid. 295.

X Marble, No. 149.

§ The rules of the Sienese guild of painters provided against strife
within their owrAircles by imposing a fine upon whoever dicesse vilania
0 parole ingiuriose at retort : Art 55. Milanesi, i. 25.

170 DONATELLO

on the background of the Miracle of the Miser's Heart,
read as follows : " s. ant. di giov de se e suoru " : and
"s di piero e bartolomeo e suo." They have been
variously interpreted. Some have suggested that they
indicate the names of donors, or that the letter s means
sepulchrum, and that they are in the nature of epitaphs.
It would seem more probable that they are signatures of
those who were occupied in giving final touches to the
chiselling of the background.

Bellano One other sculptor, Bellano, is said by Vasari
and the to have been so much affected by Donatello's
lat T mhs inn<lience that the work of the two men was
often indistinguishable. This places Bellano
too high. Scardeone, it is true, says he was minis
ccelcdura;* but Gauricus is more accurate in calling him
ineptus arti/'ex.-f He was really a lugubrious person, though
on rare occasions he made a good thing, such, for instance,
as the statuette of St. Jerome, belonging to M. Gustave
Dreyfus. But his large bas-relief of St. Anthony and the
MuleJ is stiff and laboured. The tomb of Roycelli, the
monarcha sapientie in the Santo, with its wealth of poverty-
stricken decoration, shows that Bellano was a man who
could work on a large scale, but whose sense of fitness and
harmony was weak. So also the Roccabonella fragments,
in spite of a rugged, rough-hewn appearance, show an
absence of ethical and intellectual qualities; while the
fussy and breathless reliefs round the choir of the Santo

* " De antiq. urbis Patavii," 1560, p. 374.
t " De Sculptura," 1504, gathering f.
+ Marble, in Sacristy of S. Antonio.

Alinari

TOMB OF GIOVANNI, SON OF GENERAL GATTAMELATA

PADUA

BELLANO AND GATTAMELATA TOMBS 171

are farcical in several respects. There was another man
influenced by Donatello, who must be nameless pending
further investigation : his style cannot be identified with
anything on the great altar, but he was a sculptor of
immense power. He made the so-called shrine of Santa
Giustina in London,* and the two Gattamelata monuments
in the Santo. These tombs are very simple, consisting of
the effigies of the two Condottieri, fully armed, but with
bared heads. Below is a broad stone relief of children
holding the scroll between them, as on the Coscia tomb in
Florence. Above is a lunette containing painting, the
whole composition being framed by a severe moulding, and
surmounted by the family crest and badge. They are
most remarkable. The two recumbent figures lie calm and
peaceful : they show the ennobling aspect of death, the
belief in a further existence. This sculptor with his sensi-
tive touch makes us realise the migration. To " make the
good end " was, indeed, a product of Christianity : antiquity
was content if a man parted from life " handsomely.*"
Greek art can, of course, show no sign of the Christian
virtues of death. Like the Egyptians, their object was to
present the dead as still alive, even where the aid of fiction
had to be invoked. To them sleep and death are often
indistinguishable ; often again one is left in doubt as to
which of the figures on a funeral relief represents the
departed. With death the human body, having ceased to
be the home of life, ceased also to be a welcome theme of
art. These two Gattamelatas, father and son, have fought
the good fight, and in the carved effigy acquire a statu-
esque repose which is full of dignity and pathos. The
famous warrior of Ravenna, Guido Guidarelli as he is
* Victoria and Albert Museum, No. 75, 1879.

172 DONATELLO

called, though of a later date, is fashioned in the same
spirit ; showing, moreover, certain peculiarities in the
armour which one notices in the tombs at Padua. The
d'Alagni monument in S. Domenico at Naples, and a tomb
in the Carmine of Pisa, are similar in respect of sentiment.
So, too, is the shrine of Santa Giustina in London, of which
the details as well as the organic treatment leave no doubt
as to its authorship, so closely does it resemble the tomb
of Giovanni Gattamelata. It is a work of singular refine-
ment and beauty. We see the recumbent figure of the
saint on the facade of a sarcophagus, at either side of
which are little angels made by the same hand and at the
same date as those on Giovanni's tomb. Santa Giustina
is modelled in low-relief; the sculptor seems to draw in
the stone, and the drapery is like linen : not a blanket or
counterpane, but some thin clinging material which is
moulded to the form below. In some ways this precious
work is analogous to the more famous bas-relief belonging
to the Earl of Wemyss, the St. Cecilia which has been
ascribed to Donatello. This wonderful thing is not well
known : it has been seldom exhibited, and the photograph
by which it is usually judged is taken from a reproduction
moulded a generation ago. The original, of rather slaty
Lavagna stone, has never been photographed, and the cast,
many thousands of which exist, entirely fails to show the
intangible and diaphanous qualities of the original. The
widespread popularity of the St. Cecilia would (if possible)
be enhanced were we more familiar with the genuine work
itself. It is certainly one of the most accomplished
examples of Italian plastic art ; not, indeed, by Donatello
himself, for there is a softness and glamour which cannot
be associated with his chisel. But it has the unequalled

TOMB OF GENERAL GATTAMELATA

SAM' ANTONIO, PADUA

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GATTAMELATA 178

tenderness and grace for which the Gattamelata tomb is so
notable, placing its nameless author in the highest ranks
of Italian sculpture.

Gatta- Erasmo Narni, General Gattamelata, died in
melata. 1443, and the Venetians, whom he had honour-
ably served, granted the privilege of a site in the tributary
town of Padua for the monument, the cost of which was
borne by the family of the dead Condottiere. Donatello
had to reconstruct the anatomy of a horse on a colossal
scale. He was faced by the formidable task of making the
first equestrian bronze statue erected in Italy during the
Renaissance, and no model existed except the antique
statue of Marcus Aurelius at Rome. Donatello was,
however, familiar with the four horses on the facade of
San Marco at Venice. He undertook to complete the
Gattamelata monument by September 1453, but the bulk
of the casting was finished as early as 1448, though the
chiselling and chasing of the bronze required further work
for two or three years. The statue was placed on the
pedestal before the agreed date, and a conference was held
at Venice to settle the price.* There were four assessors
on either side, and it was finally agreed that the total
payment should be a sum equivalent to about two thousand
guineas in our own day. Donatello does not seem to have
been hampered by his lack of experience. The work is
adroitly handled, the technical difficulty of welding the
large pieces of bronze is successfully overcome, and the
metal is firm and self-supporting. There are faults, of
course, though the fact that the horse ambles need not be
* 29, vi. 1453. Donatello is still described as abitante in Padova.

174 DONATELLO

considered an error. But the relative proportions of the
horse and rider are not quite accurately preserved,
Gattamelata being, if anything, rather below the right
scale. The monument is, however, so massive and grandiose
that criticism seems out of place ; indeed, in the presence of
the statue one feels that everything is subordinated to the
power and mastery of Gattamelata himself. The general
is bareheaded, and the strong courageous face is modelled
with directness and energy. The gesture is commanding,
and he rides easily in the saddle. Colleone's statue at
Venice is superior in many ways : yet the radical distinction
between them is that whereas Gattamelata is the faithful
portrait of a modest though successful warrior, it must be
confessed that Verrochio makes an idealised soldier of
fortune, full of bravado and swagger, a Malbrooh s'en
va-t-en guerre of the Quattrocento. But, striking as the
contrast of sentiment is, noticeable alike in the artist and
his model, these two statues remain the finest equestrian
monuments in the world, their one possible rival being
Can Grande at Verona. Donatello has decorated Gatta-
melata's saddle and armour with a mass of delicate and
vivacious detail, which modifies the severity without
distracting the eye. The putti which act as pommels to
the saddle are delightful little figures, and the damascened
and chased fringes of the armour are excellent. Moreover,
the armour does not overweight the figure. The horse, of
rather a thick and " punchy " breed, is well suited to carry
a heavy load ; he is full of spirit, and is neighing and
chafing, as the old critics pointed out. An enormous
wooden horse, some twenty-four feet long, is preserved in
the Sala della Raggione at Padua. It used to belong to
the Capodalista family, and has been considered Donatello's

GENERAL GATTAMELATA
PADUA

GATTAMELATA 175

model for the Gattamelata charger. This is unlikely, and
it was more probably used in some procession, being ridden
by a huge emblematic figure. It is improbable that
Donatello should have done more than sketch the design;
but the head of the horse is admirable, with the feathery
ears and bushy topknot which one finds in the Venice
quadriga, on Gattamelata's steed, and on the colossal
bronze head of a horse now preserved in the Naples
Museum. This used to be considered an antique, but it is
now established beyond all question that Donatello made
it ; and it was presented in 1471 to Count Mataloni by
Lorenzo de1 Medici. It is an interesting work, defective in
some places, and treated similarly to classical examples ;
indeed, Donatello was obviously influenced in all his equine
statuary by the most obvious classical horses at his
command, namely, those at Venice. He does not seem to
have taken ideas from the Marcus Aurelius, which he had
not seen for upwards of ten years when commissioned to
make the Gattamelata. The base of the statue is simple,
but scarcely worthy of the monument it supports. The
pedestal made by Leopardi for the Colleone monument is
both more decorative and dignified. On Donatello's
pedestal there are two marble reliefs of winged boys
holding the general's helmet, badge and cuirass. The
reliefs on the monument are copies of the maimed originals
now preserved in a dark passage of the Santo cloister.
There must be many statues elsewhere, now taken for
originals, which are nothing more than replicas of what
had gradually perished. If one closely examines the
sculpture on some of the church facades — Siena Cathedral,
for instance — one finds that most of the statues are only
held together by numberless metal ties and clamps ; and

176 DONATELLO

one may safely assume that many of those in really good
condition have been placed there at later dates.

Smaller The Gattamelata reliefs seem to be sixteenth-
Reliefs and century work. They show a detail of which

' Donatello and his scholars were fond, namely,
the Medusa's head. It reappears on the Martelli Patera*
and on the sword-hilt in the Royal Armoury at Turin.
The former has been ascribed to Donatello, but the attri-
bution is untenable. It is a bronze medallion of a Satyr
and Bacchante, executed with much skill, but not recall-
ing the spirit or handling of Donatello. It is an admir-
able example of the bronze-work which became popular in
Northern Italy, to which Donatello gave the initial impetus,
and which soon became ultra-classical in style. The sword-
hilt is more interesting, and it is signed " Opus Donatelli
Flo." Some of the detail has a richness which might suggest
rather a later date ; but the general outline, especially the
small crouching putti, was, no doubt, designed by the master.
The history of this curious and unusual specimen is un-
known, and it is outside Donatello's sphere of activity.
Michael Angelo, it may be remembered, also had the
caprice of making a sword for the Aldobrandini family.
The manufacture of plaquettes, small bronze plates which
were widely used for decorating caskets, inkstands, candle-
sticks, &c, became a specialised art ; and some of these
dainty reliefs are possibly made from Donatello's own
designs. There are, however, a few larger bronzes of greater
importance in which his personality was able to assert itself
more freely than in the reduced plaquettes. But the work

* Victoria and Albert Museum, No. 8717, 1863.

COLLEONE

VENICE

SMALLER RELIEFS AND PLAQUETTES 177

of scholars and imitators has been frequently mistaken for
Donatello's own productions. Thus the Ambras (Vienna)
relief of the Entombment, with its exaggerated ideas of
classical profile, must be the work of a scholar. The
Sportello at Venice* also shows later Renaissance decora-
tion in its rich arabesques, though two hands seem to have
been employed — the four central putti and the two angels
being more Donatellesque than the remainder. The relief
of the Flagellation in Parisf is more important, as we have a
rugged and severe treatment both in the subject and its
execution : but the summary treatment of such details as
the hair makes one doubtful if Donatello can have been
wholly responsible. A somewhat analogous Flagellation
in Berlin \ is the work of a clever but halting plagiarist.
He has inserted a Donatellesque background of arches
showing the lines of stonework, and a pleasant detached
girl who reminds us of the figure on the Siena and St.
George reliefs. But the imitator's weak hand is betrayed
by the anatomy of the three principal figures. The posi-
tions are those of force and energy, but there is no tension
or muscular effort, and there is no vestige of vigour in the
rounded backs and soft limbs. Even if Donatello furnished
the original sketch, it is quite impossible that he should
have executed or approved the carving. Madame Andre's
Martyrdom of St. Sebastian is work in which the finishing-
touches were probably added by a pupil, but this striking
composition shows dramatic qualities which one must
associate with Donatello himself. So also the tondo
Madonna belonging to M. Gustave Dreyfus, in which the

* Museo Archeologico, Doge's Palace.

t Louvre, " His de la Salle Collection," No. 385.

% Marble, No. 39 b.

178 DONATELLO

figures are ranged behind a balustrade, making the " garden
enclosed " — a popular symbolical treatment of the Virgin
and Child — is doubtless from one of Donatello's designs.*
Though imperfect, the London Deposition or Lamentationj"
is an important work, and has a value as showing the
methods of fastening figures in relief on to the foundation
of the background, though in this case the bulk of the
background is missing. Three other reliefs should be
mentioned, all representing Christ on the Cross. Of these,
the Berlin example, * though sadly injured since its acquisi-
tion for the museum, is notable ; being, in fact, a genuine
sketch by Donatello himself, and in a degree comparable
to the clay study of the same subject in London. § The
bronze relief, belonging to Comte Isaac de Camondo in
Paris, is a most remarkable work of the Paduan period.
Donatello has succeeded in conveying the sense of deso-
lating tragedy without any adventitious aid of violence or
movement. The whole thing is massive, and treated with
a studied simplicity which concentrates the silence and
loneliness of the scene. It is superb, and superior to a
varied treatment of the same subject in the Bargello. In
this well-known relief the crowded scene is full of turmoil
and confusion. In the foreground are the relatives and
disciples of Christ. Many soldiers are introduced, some of
whom closely resemble the tall men-at-arms in Mantegna's
frescoes at Padua. Donatello's hand is obvious in the
angels and in the three crucified figures, which are modelled
with masterly conviction. The rest of the composition has

* Cf. a Donatellesque stucco Madonna beneath a baldachino belonging
to Signor Bardini, who also possesses a stucco Entombment similar to
the London bronze.

f Victoria and Albert Museum, No. 8552, 1863. Bronze.

X Stucco No. 41. § See p. 62.

THE MADONNAS 179

been ruthlessly gilded and chased until the statuesque lines
are lost in a mass of tiresome detail ; which is regrettable,
for the conception is fine.

The A whole treatise would be required to describe all

Madonnas. tne Madonnas which have been attributed to
Donatello. Within the limits of this volume the dis-
cussion must be confined to certain groups which are
directly related to him, ignoring a much larger number
of subordinate interest. The tendency is to ascribe to
Donatello many more than he can possibly have made —
varying inversely from the attitude of modern criticism,
which has asserted that not twenty paintings by Giorgione
have survived. Hundreds of artists must have made these
Madonnas, of which only a small minority are in bronze or
marble. Many names of sculptors are recorded to whom
we can only attribute one or two works; the remainder
being generically ascribed to the school of some great man,
and often enough to the great man himself. The bulk of
these reliefs of the Madonna and Child are in stucco, terra-
cotta, carta pesta and gesso — cheap malleable materials
which were easily and rapidly worked : the reliefs were manu-
factured in great numbers for the market. Then again,
well-known works were cast, and small differences in colour
and finish often gave them the semblance of original work.
Vasari says that almost every artist in Florence possessed a
cast of Pollaiuolo's battle-piece.* Such facsimiles are eagerly
sought after nowadays, and are treated as genuine works of
the sculptor. It must also be remembered that during the
last decades there has been a systematic multiplication

180 DONATELLO

of these reliefs, and that forgeries can be found in most
of the great collections of Europe. The first difficulty
encountered in trying to discept between Donatello and
his school, is that authenticated examples from which to
make our inductions are very rare. Donatello certainly
made Madonnas in relief : Vasari mentions half a dozen ;
Neroccio, the Sienese sculptor, possessed una Madonna di
gesso di Donatello* There are Madonnas on the tombs
of Pope John and Cardinal Brancacci. The latter shows
no trace of Donatello's craft, and the former is of indifferent
merit, and was certainly not made by Donatello alone.
There are two Madonnas at Padua, one the large altar
statue, the other a tiny relief three inches in diameter on
one of the bronze Miracle panels. The sources of stylistic
data are therefore most scanty. One may say generally
that in the authenticated Virgins as well as in the other
heads of women, Donatello makes a marked nasal inden-
ture, thus separating him from those later men who drew
their heads with the classical profile, showing a straight
and continuous line from the forehead down the nose.
But even this cannot be pressed too far. As regards the
Christ, Donatello seems to preserve the essence and im-
maturity of childhood. His treatment of the Child is never
hieratic, and it is always full of warm human sentiment.
The Paduan relief, for instance, is almost a genre re-
presentation of a mother and child, domestic and
intimate, with nothing but the halos to indicate the
higher meaning of the theme. Having said so much,
we come to the other Madonnas which are assigned on
various grounds to Donatello : those known as the
Madonnas Pazzi, Orlandini, Siena Cathedral, Pietra Piana;

* Mentioned in his will. He died in 1500. Milanesi, iii. p. 8.

MADONNA AND CHI

SIENA CATHEDRAL

THE MADONNAS 181

the London oval, the Madonna of the Rose, the Capella
Medici group, and the Piot andCourajod Madonnas in the
Louvre. All of these have one or more features which
conflict with our ideas of Donatello. It is impossible to
say that any one of them must inevitably be by Donatello
himself; none of them carry their own sign-manual of
authenticity. The Pazzi Madonna in Berlin * is now gene-
rally ascribed to Donatello himself, and certainly no more
grandiose version of the subject exists. The Virgin is
holding up the Child close to her beautiful face ; she
broods over him, and the countenance is full of foreboding.
The solemnity of the large Paduan Madonna is visible here,
and it is only made to apply to the Virgin, for the Child is
a typical bambino. So, too, in the relief outside the transept
door of Siena Cathedral we find this grim careworn expres-
sion and the sense of impending drama : the massacre of
the Innocents is still to come. This relief, a marble tondo,
is in such abnormally perfect condition that one wonders if
it may not be a later replica of some original which the
atmosphere disintegrated. Donatello must have provided
the design ; at any rate, it is difficult to suggest an alter-
native name. The four winged cherubs are, however, lifeless
and ill-drawn, while the Christ is more like some of the
putti on the Aragazzi reliefs than Donatello's typical boy.
The share of Michelozzo in the reliefs ascribed to Dona-
tello is larger than has been hitherto acknowledged. The
Orlandini Madonna f yearns like a tigress as she holds up
her child and gazes into its face ; here again we have a

* Marble, No. 39. Versions in soft materials exist in the Louvre, in
the Andre and Bardini Collections, and a variant in the Victoria and
Albert Museum, No. 7590, 1861.

t Marble, Berlin Museum.

182 DONATELLO

composition for which Donatello must have been primarily
responsible, though the full profile is attributable to in-
efficient handling of the marble rather than to deliberate
intention. Signor Bardini's version of this relief has a
delicacy lacking in the original ; one touch of colour
removes a certain awkwardness of the profile. The
Madonna in the Via Pietra Piana at Florence belongs to a
different category. Here again the design is Donatellesque,
but the face of the Madonna has a dull and vacant look ;
not only is it without the powerful modelling of the Pazzi
or Siena reliefs, but it shows none of the sentiment for
which those two Madonnas are so remarkable. There are
several reproductions in Berlin and London,* all differing
from the Florentine version in the drapery of the head-
dress. Closely related to this Madonna is another composi-
tion which only exists in soft materials.f The Virgin, with
long wavy hair, looks downwards towards her Child, who is
looking outwards to the spectator. This is a work of merit,
with something attractive in the anxious and clinging
attitude of the Madonna. The large clay Madonna and
Child in London,^ the Christ sitting in a chair and the
Virgin with hands joined in worship, has been the subject
of much controversy. There are good grounds for doubting
its authenticity. The angular treatment of the head and
a dainty roundness of the wrist often indicate that Bastianini
had a share in this class of work.§ This relief has all the

* Victoria and Albert Museum, No. 7412, i860 ; Berlin Museum ;
collections of Herr von Beckerath and Herr Richard von Kaufmann.

+ Louvre, Berlin Museum ; Verona, in the Viccolo Fogge ; cf. also
the relief under the archway in the Via de' Termini, Siena.

X Victoria and Albert Museum, No. 57, 1867.

§ Giovanni Bastianini, 1830-68, though the doyen of forgers, did not
profit by his dexterity, and died almost penniless.

IV. A. Maiisell

"PAZZI" MADONNA

BERLIN

THE MADONNAS 183

merits and demerits of the circular Piot Madonna in the
Louvre.* Here, too, the handling of Bastianini has been
detected, though there is a clumsiness which is seldom seen in
the productions of that distinguished artist. The frame and
the background, which are integral features of the composi-
tion, can leave no doubt as to the origin of this work. But
the Piot relief has an interest which the London terra-cotta
cannot boast, for a fifteenth-century original from which
the copyist worked is in existence, now belonging to Signor
Bardini. This is a tondo Madonna of uncoloured stucco,
of no particular value in itself ; but it is the model from
which the Piot sophistication was contrived ; or else it is
a cast from the lost original of marble. It reveals all
the whims of the copyist : the treatment of the hands, the
lissome tissue of the drapery, and the angular structure of
the skull. A less interesting forgery is the marble Madonna
in London.f Three reproductions of the lost Donatellesque
original exist, the Berlin copy J being in stucco, that at
Bergamo terra-cotta. Signor Bardini has an effaced and
poor copy of the same relief, in which the hand of the
Madonna is obviously meant to be holding something ; but
the stucco has been much rubbed away and one cannot tell
the original intention of the sculptor. But the two other
genuine versions are in better condition and supply the
answer, showing that the Virgin held a large rose between
her fingers. The man who made the London relief copied
from the incomplete version, and carved an empty meaning-
less hand with the fingers grasping something which does
not exist.

* Terra-cotta.

t Victoria and Albert Museum, No. 8376, 1863.

X No. 53 e. Bergamo, Morelli Collection, No. 53.

184 DONATELLO

The little oval Madonna in London * is a work of much
interest. It is coloured stucco, and Dr. Bode, who has
dated it as early as 1420-30, believes it to be the first
example of the Santa conversazione in Italian plastic art.
A variant belonging to Dr. Weisbach in Berlin is of equal
importance, and both are probably original works and not
casts. The Berlin relief is not so thickly painted as the
London medallion, and shows signs of the actual modelling.
There are contradictions in these valuable works. The
music-making angels are like a figure on the Salome relief
at Siena : but they are also related to Luca della Robbia's
reliefs on the Campanile, and to a terra-cotta Madonna in
London f (which reminds one of the Pellegrini Chapel) ;
Matteo Civitale uses a similar type on the tomb of St.
Regulus at Lucca ; while the crowned saint of the London
version was copied at a later date on a well-known plaquette
forming the lid of a box of which several examples
exist. J The figure of the Madonna and Child also suggests
another hand ; and with the exception of the stone relief
in the Louvre, and another derived from it at Padua,§ it
is the only case in which the Virgin is not shown in profile.
These latter works are bold and vigorous, and must be
ultimately referred to Donatello, the head of the Madonna
being rendered by fluent and precise strokes of the chisel.
A bronze relief in the Louvre (No. 390), which came from
Fontainebleau, has Donatellesque motives ; but the spiral
coils of hair, and still more the fact that the Virgin's

* Victoria and Albert Museum, No. 93, 1882.

t Ibid. No. 7594, 1861.

J One was in the Spitzer Collection, another belongs to M. Gustave
Dreyfus.

§ No. 294, Davillier bequest ; and in the entrance hall to the Sacristy
of the Eremitani at Padua.

MADONNA AND CHILD

LOUVRE (NO. 389), PARIS

THE MADONNAS 185

breasts are hammered into the likeness of puttVs faces —
wholly alien to Donatello's serious ideas — sufficiently prove
it to belong to the later Italian school which flourished at
the French Court. The Courajod Madonna (Louvre, 389)
is modestly called a schoolpiece ; but it is a work of first-
class importance, for which Donatello is to be credited.
This is a very large relief in painted terra, the Madonna
being in profile to the left, with a wan and saddened
expression. The arm is stiff and wooden, while the under-
cutting of the profile, like that of the Siena tondo, is so
pronounced that, when standing close to the wall on which
the relief is fixed, one can see the Virgin^ second eye —
unduly prominent and much too near to the nose. This is a
needless and distracting mannerism, though, of course, the
blemish is only noticeable from one point of view, being
quite invisible as one sees the relief from the front, or in a
photograph. The Berlin Museum has another large
Madonna comparable for its scale and rich colouring to
the Courajod relief. This came from the convent of
Santa Maria Maddalena de1 Pazzi at Florence.* The Child,
draped in swaddling-clothes, stands up leaning against the
Virgin, who looks downwards. Above them are four
cherubs, full of character and vivacity, the whole composi-
tion being typical of Donatello, though naturally enough
much of the primitive colouring has disappeared during
the last four centuries. One other group remains to be
noticed, founded upon the large marble relief in the
Capella Medici of Santa Croce.f We detect Donatello's

* Terra-cotta No. 39a.

•j- The others are Victoria and Albert Museum, No. 7624, 1861, marble.
Berlin Museum, stucco. Madame Andre, marble, finer than the London
version. Marquise Arconati Visconti, Paris, marble, and a rough
'ncoloured stucco in the Casa Bardini.

186 DONATELLO

ideas, but no sign of his handiwork : neither was he
responsible for the composition, of which the governing
feature is a total absence of his masterly occupation of
space. There are also florescent details in the halos,
drapery, and so forth, which are closer to Agostino di
Duccio than to Donatello. Though not all by the same
sculptor, these reliefs are most interesting and suggestive,
showing the growth and activity of a small school which
drew some inspiration from Donatello while preserving its
own individuality. We find an intricate treatment of a
very simple idea. As compositions, Donatello's Madonnas
were always simple. But our knowledge of the subject is
still empirical, and until the problem has been further
sifted by the most severe tests of research and criticism,
our opinions as to Donatello's personal share in the array
of Madonnas must remain subject to revision.

The Pul- Donatello was sixty-seven when he returned
pits of San from Padua. He seems to have been unsettled
during his later years, undertaking ambitious
schemes which he did not execute, and hesitating
whether Florence or Siena should be the home of his old
age. The bronze pulpits of San Lorenzo * are the most
important works of this period, and they were left un-
finished at his death. Donatello was an old man, and the
work bears witness to his advancing years. Bandinelli
says that the roughness of the modelling was caused by
failing eyesight,j" and it is obvious that, notwithstanding

* Properly speaking, they are ambones. They stand in the west end
of the nave of the church close to the junction of the transepts.

t 7, xii. 1547 . . . " Donato non fece mai la piu brutta opera," &c.
Letter printed in Bottari, i. 70.

//'. .1. Manse//

MADONNA (Berlin)

FROM SANTA MARIA MADDALENA DEI PAZZI, FLORENCE

THE PULPITS OF SAN LORENZO 187

the signs of feverish activity, and an apparent desire to
get the work finished, much was left uncompleted at his
death. The pulpits were not even erected until a later
date ; some of the panels were subsequently added in wood,
and others do not correctly fit into the structural design.
But the genius of Donatello shines through the finishing-
touches of his assistants. Drama is replaced by tragedy ;
and in these panels the concluding incidents of the Passion
are pictured with intense earnestness and pathos. But
Donatello would not allow gloom to monopolise his com-
position. The paradox of the pulpits consists in the frieze
of putti above the reliefs : putti who dance, play, romp, and
run about. Some of them are busily engaged in moving a
heavy statue : others are pressing grapes into big cauldrons.
The boy dragging along a violoncello as big as himself is
delightful. The contrast afforded by this happy and
buoyant throng to the unrelieved tragedy below is strik-
ingly unconventional ; and the spirit of both portions is
so well maintained that there is neither conflict of emotion
nor sense of incongruity. The scenes (including those
added at a later date) are sixteen in number. Except the
later reliefs of St. John, St. Luke, the Flagellation, and the
Ecce Homo, all are of bronze, upon which more care seems
to have been expended than on the clay models from which
they were cast. On the southern pulpit the scene on the
Mount of Olives shows the foreshortened Apostles sleeping
soundly as in Mantegna's pictures. Christ before Pilate
and Christ before Caiaphas are treated as different episodes,
in two similar compartments of one great hall, separated
by a large pier. The Crucifix and the Deposition are,
perhaps, the most remarkable of all these reliefs: corre-
sponding in many ways to works already described ; but

188 DONATELLO

not having been over-decorated like the Bargello relief,
show greater dignity and less confusion. The background
of the Deposition is flat, but broken here and there by
faintly-indicated horsemen ; naked boys riding on shadowy
steeds like those vague figures which seem to thread their
way through some panel of Gothic tapestry. There is an
element of stiacciato in the Entombment, giving it the air
of a mystery rather than of an historical fact. The draperies
are thin and graceful, suited to the softer modelling of the
limbs : some of the faces are almost dainty. Passing to
the northern pulpit, we come to three scenes divided by
heavy buttresses, but unified by figures leaning against
them, and overstepping the lateral boundaries of the reliefs.
The subjects are the Descent into Limbo, the Resurrection
and the Ascension. The link between the two former is a
haggard emaciated Baptist. The Christ is old and tired.
The people who welcome him in Limbo are old and tired,
feebly pressing towards the Saviour. The Roman guards
lie sleeping, self abandoned in their fatigue, while Christ,
wearied and suffering, steps from the tomb with manifest
effort. One feels that the physical infirmities of the artist
are reflected in these two works, so vivid in their present-
ment of the heavy burden of advanced years. But in the
Resurrection a fresh note is struck. The bystanders are
gathered round the Christ, who gives the Benediction.
His robe is held back by little angels, and the scene
is pervaded by an atmosphere of staid and decorous calm.
Donatello has treated this relief in a more archaic spirit.
The absence of paroxysms of acute grief, giving a
certain violence to other parts of the pulpits, makes the
contrast of this relief more effective ; but, even so, this
scene of the Ascension is fraught with dramatic emphasis.

THE PULPITS OF SAN LORENZO 189

The Descent of the Holy Ghost is less interesting. There
is a monotony in the upraised hands, while the feeling
of devotional rhapsody is perhaps unduly enforced. The
relief of the Maries at the Tomb, which occupies the
western end of this pulpit, is almost Pisanesque in the rela-
tive size of the people to the architecture. There is a
combination of trees and pilasters seeming to support the
long low roof beneath which the incident is portrayed. A
curious feeling of intimacy is conveyed to the spectator.
The pulpits are full of classical details — far more so than
in anything we find at Padua. It is very noticeable in the
armour of the soldiers, in their shields bearing the letters
S. P. Q. R. and the scorpion, and in the antique vases which
decorate the frieze. The centaurs holding the cartel on
which Donatello has signed his name are, of course,
classical in idea, while the boys with horses are suggested
by the great Monte Cavallo statues.* Then, again, the
architecture is replete with classical forms ; in one relief
Donatello introduces the Column of Trajan. But here, as
elsewhere, the classicisms are held in check, and never
invade or embarrass the dominant spirit of the Quattro-
cento. How far Donatello was helped by assistants must
remain problematical in the absence of documentary
evidence. Bellano and Bertoldo were in all probability
responsible for a good deal. In the relief of St. Laurence
it is possible that Donatello's share was relatively small.

* It is probable that these famous horses were mere wrecks in the
fifteenth century. At any rate, Lafreri's engraving of 1546 shows one of
them without breast or forelegs, the remainder of the horse being
nothing but a large pillar of brick. Herr von Kaufmann has an admir-
able statuette of Donatello's latter period modelled from the horses on
the San Lorenzo frieze. Cf. also Mantegna in the Madonna di San
Zeno, Verona.

190 DONATELLO

Moreover, one part of the frieze of children is so closely
allied to the work of Giovanni da Pisa at Padua, that one
is j ustified, on stylistic grounds, in suggesting that he may
also have been employed. But it is certain that the share
of Bellano must have been limited to the more technical
portion of the work, for there is happily nothing to suggest
the poverty of his inventive powers. These pulpits are
very remarkable works ; they have an inexhaustible wealth
of detail in which Donatello can be studied with endless
pleasure. The backgrounds are full of his architectural
fancy, and the sustained effort put forth by Donatello is
really astonishing. But he was an octogenarian, and there
are signs of decay. Michael Angelo and Beethoven de-
cayed. Dante and Shakespeare were too wise to decay ;
Shelley and Giorgione died too young. But the sculptor's
intellect must be reinforced by keen eyes and a steady
hand : of all artists, Nature finds him most vulnerable.
Donatello's last work shows the fatigue of hand and eye,
though the intellect never lost its ardent and strenuous
activity. There was no petulance or meanness in his old
age, no decadence ; he merely grew old, and his person-
ality was great until the end.

Donatello's The influence of Donatello on his three greatest
Influence contemporaries was small. Jacopo della Quercia
. always retained his own massive style. Luca della

Robbia and Ghiberti — the Euphuist of Italian
sculpture — were scarcely affected by the sterner prin-
ciples of Donatello. All four men were, in fact, exponents
of distinct and independent ideas, and handed on their
traditions to separate groups of successors. Nanni di

;nd panel of pulpit

SAN LORENZO, FLORENCE

HIS INFLUENCE ON SCULPTURE 191

Banco and II Rosso were, however, impressed by Donatello's
monumental work, while other sculptors, such as Simone
Fiorentino, Vecchietta, Michelozzo, Andrea del Aquila and
Buggiano (besides much anonymous talent) were largely
influenced by him. It is owing to the fact that Donatello
was the most influential man of his day that so many
" schoolpieces " exist.* The influence on his successors is
less easily determined, except so far as concerns the men
who worked for him at Padua, together with Riccio, the
most skilful bronze caster of his day, who indirectly owed
a good deal to Donatello. But Urbano da Cortona and
his colleagues produced little original work after their
return from Padua : their training seems to have merged
their individuality into the dominant style of Donatello ;
and much of their subsequent work is now ascribed to
Donatello or his bottega. Verrochio, whom Gauricus calls
Donatello^ rival, owes little or nothing to the elder man,
and the versatile sculptors who outlived Donatello, such
as Rossellino, Benedetto da Maiano, Mino da Fiesole and
Desiderio, show relatively small traces of his influence.
But Donatello's sculpture acted as a restraining influence,
a tonic : it was a living protest against flippancy and
carelessness, and his influence was of service even where it
was of a purely negative character. Through Bertoldo
Donatello's influence extended to Michael Angelo, affecting
his ideas of form : But Jacopo della Quercia, who was
almost as great a man as Donatello, is the prototype of
Michael Angelo's spirit. Jacopo ought to have founded

* E.g., work wrongly attributed to Donatello: the figure of Plenty
in the courtyard of the Canigiani Palace, Florence ; the Lavabo in San
Lorenzo ; the two figures on the famous silver altar at Pistoja ; the bronze
busts in the Bargello ; the font at Pietra Santa ; chimney-pieces,
gateways, stemme, and numberless Madonnas and small bronzes.

192 DONATELLO

a powerful, indeed an overwhelming school of sculpture at
Siena. Cozzarelli, Neroccio, and the Turini just fail to
attain distinction ; but their force and virility should have
fructified Jacopo's ideas and developed a supreme school
of monumental sculpture. As regards Michael Angelo,
there can be no question of his having been influenced by
Donatello's St. John the Evangelist and the Campanile
Abraham. The Madonna delle treppe * in a lesser degree
is suggested by Donatello. The Trinity on the niche of
St. Louis again reminds one of Michael Angelo^ conception
of the Eternal Father. His Bacchus in Berlin f was held
to be the work of Donatello himself, and the Pieta in
St. Peter's has also a reminiscence of the older master.
But in all these cases the resemblance is physical. The
intellectual genius of Michael Angelo owed nothing to
Donatello. Condivi records one of Michael Angelo's rare
obiter dicta about his predecessors J to the effect that
Donatello's work, much as he admired it, was inadequately
polished owing to lack of patience. The criticism was not
very sagacious, and one would least expect it from Michael
Angelo, of whose work so much was left unfinished. But,
at any rate, Donatello commanded his approval, and con-
tributed something to one of the greatest artists of the
world. But the ideals of Michael Angelo were too com-
prehensive to be derived from one source or another, too
stupendous to spring from individuals. He sought out the
universal form : he took mankind for his model ; and while
he typified humanity he effectively denationalised Italian
sculpture.

* Casa Buonarotti, Florence.

t From the Gualandi Collection. It is attributed by some to a
Neapolitan sculptor. X "Vita," 1553, p. 14.

EARLY CRITICISM OF DONATELLO 193

Early Criti- DonatehVs activity is the best testimonial to
cism of the appreciation of his work during his lifetime.
Sabba del Castiglione was proud to possess a
specimen of Donatello's sculpture.* Commissions were
showered on him in great numbers, and Gauricus says that
he produced more than all his contemporaries.f Flavius
Blondius of Forli compares him favourably with the
ancients.J Bartolomeo Fazio warmly praised Donatello,
his junior. § Francesco d'Olandall and Benvenuto Cellini IF
also admired him. Lasca credited Donatello with having
done for sculpture what Brunellesco did for architecture :

" E Donatello messe la scullura

Nel dritto suo sender ch' era smarrita
Cosi V architettura
Storpiata, e guasta alle man' de' Tedeschi. . . ."

and so forth.** Another early poem, the Rappresentazione
of King Nebuchadnezzar, shows the great popularity of
Donatello in the humbler walks of life.ff VasarTs rhetoric
led him to say that Donatello was sent by Nature, in-
dignant at seeing herself caricatured.JJ Bocchi claims

* "Ricordi," 1554, p. 51.

f " De Sculptura," 1504, gathering f. "Donatellus . . . aere ligno,
marmore laudatissimus , plura huj'us unius manu extant opera, quant semel ab eo
ad nos caterorum omnium."

X "Italia Illustrata," Bale, 1531, p. 305. " Decor at etiam urbem
Florentiam ingenio veterum laudibus respondente, Donatello Heracleotae Zeusi
aequiparandus, ut vivos, juxta Virgilii verba, ducat de marmore vultus."

§ " De Viris illustribus," Florence ed. 1745, p. 51. "Donatellus
. . . exccllet non aere tantum, sed etiam marmore notissimus, ut vivos vultus
ducere, et ad antiquorum gloriam proxime accedere videatur."

|| " Dialogues," Raczynski ed. Paris, 1846, p. 56.

IT "DueTrattati," ed. Milanesi, 1857, passim.

** " Due Vite di Brunellesco," p. 142.

ft Semper, 321.

XX " Lem.," iii. 243, in first edition.

194 DONATELLO

that, having equalled the ancients and surpassed the
sculptors of his own day, Donatello's name will live in
the perpetual memory of mankind.*

Character Donatello must be judged by his work alone.

and Person- His intellect is only reflected in his handicraft.

t,1 yP„ We know little about him, but all we know
Donatello. . . '

bears tribute to his high character. The very
name by which he was called — Donatello — is a diminutive,
a term of endearment. His generosity, his modesty, and a
pardonable pride, are recorded in stories which have been
generically applied to others, but which were specific to
himself. He shared his purse with his friends : f he pre-
ferred plain clothing to the fine raiment offered by Cosimo
de1 Medici ; J and he indignantly broke the statue for
which a Genoese merchant was unwilling to pay a fair
price.§ He was recognised as a man of honourable judg-
ment, and he was called upon to act as assessor several
times. The friend of the Medici, of Cyriac of Ancona,
of Niccolo Niccoli, the greatest antiquarian of the day,
and of Andrea della Robbia, one of the pall -bearers at his
funeral, must have been a man of winning personality and
considerable learning. But he was always simple and
naive : henigno e cortese, according to Vasari,| but as
Summonte added with deeper insight, his work was far
from simple.U He is one of the rare men of genius against
whom no contemporary attack is recorded. He was con-

* 1677 edition. t Gauricus, b. 1.

X Vespasiano de' Bisticci, Vite.
§ '* Vasari," iii. 253. || Ibid. iii. 244.

IT " Fo in Fiorenza ad tempo de' nostri padri Donatello huomo raro,
semplicissimo in ogni altra cosa excepto che in la scultura."

CHARACTER AND PERSONALITY 195

tent with little ; * his life was even-tenored ; his work,
though not faultless, shows a steady and unbroken progress
towards the noblest achievements of plastic art.

* Matteo degli Orghani, writing in 1434, says: " Impero che h huomo
ch' ogni picholo pasto k allui assai, e sta contcnto a ogni cosa. ' ' Guasti, iv. 475.
Donatello died in 1466, probably on December 15. He was buried in
San Lorenzo at the expense of the Medici. Masaccio painted his
portrait in the Carmine, but it is lost. The Louvre panel No. 1272,
ascribed to Paolo Ucello, show* the painter, Manetti, Brunellesco, and
Donatello. Monuments have been recently erected to the sculptor in
his native city. For Donatello's homes in Florence, see "Misc.
Fiorentina," vol. i. No. 4, 1886, p. 60, and " Miscellanea d'arte," No. 3,
1903, p. 49.

APPENDICES

APPENDIX I

WORK LOST OR NOT EXECUTED

Padua. — For the Santo altar, a figure of God the Father,
stone ; a Deposition and the remaining bas-reliefs mentioned
in the * Anonimo Morelliano ; " a St. Sebastian, wood ; a
Madonna in the church of the Send.

Ferrara. — Donatello probably worked there; in 1451 he
visited the town as an assessor. Gualandi, iv. 85.

Modena. — Donatello also visited this town in 1451, and
received a first instalment towards the equestrian statue of
Borso d'Este. Campori, " Gli artisti Italiani." Modena, 1855,
p. 185.

For Mantua he made a large number of works, including
columns, capitals, images of the Madonna in stone and terra-
cotta, a St. Andrew in tufo, &c. ; also the design for a shrine
of St. Anselm. See documents in Archivio Storico Lombardo,
1886, p. 666. At Rome a St. John Baptist, " Una testa" in
the Minerva Church, and the portrait of Canon Morosini in
Santa Maria Maggiore.

At Siena a Goliath, a silver crucifix, gates for the Cathedral,
and a marble statue of San Bernardino.

At Ancona and Orvieto statues of St. John the Baptist.

At Florence the following works are lost : the Dovizia, a
figure of Plenty, which stood in the Mercato Vecchio ; two
bronze heads for the Cantoria ; the Colossi for the Cathedral ;
four large stucco Saints in San Lorenzo; a statue with

200 DONATELLO

drapery of gilded lead made with Brunellesco. San Rossore
for Ogni Santi ; a reliquary of Santa Verdiana (Richa,ii. 231);
Albizzi tombs. The Cathedral gates were never made.
Bocchi, Cinelli, Vasari, and Borghini mention a large number
of smaller works now unidentified ; plaquettes, Madonnas,
crucifixes, heraldic shields, busts and reliefs.

APPENDIX II

DOCUMENTS

These are printed as specimens of the original authorities
upon which our authentic knowledge of Donatello is based.

Denunzia de' Beni of 1427, stating Donatello's home, his
substance, his partnership with Michelozzo ; referring also to
the bronze relief for the Siena Font and the figure of San
Rossore. Also a list of the sculptor's family. (Gaye, i.
120.)

Donato di nicholo di betto, intagliatore, prestanziato nel
quartiere di Sco. Spirito, gonfalone nichio, in fior. 1 . s. 10 den.
2. Sanza niuna sustanza, eccietto un pocho di maserizie per
mio uso edella mia famiglia.

E piu esercito la detta arte insieme e a conpagnia con
Michelozzo di bartolomeo, sanza niuna chorpo, salvo fior. SO
in pin ferramenti et masserizie per detta arte.

E di detta conpagnia e bottegha tralgho quella sustanza et
in quello modo, che per la scritta della sustanza di Michelozzo
sopradetto appare nel quartiere di Sco. Giovanni G. dragho,
che dice in lionardo di bartolomeo di gherardo e frategli.
Eppiu 6 avere dall' operaio di duomo di Siena fior. 180 per
chagione duna storia dottone, gli feci piu tempo fa.

Eppiu dal convento e frati dogni santi 6 avere per chagione

202 DONATELLO

duna meza fighura di bronzo di Sco. rossore della quale non sa
fatto merchato niuno. Chredo restare avere piu che fior 30.
truovomi con questa famiglia in chasa :

Donato danni 40.

Ma Orsa mia madre 80.

Ma Tita mia sirochia, vedova, sanza dote 45.

Giuliano figliuolo di detta Ma tita atratto 18.

Sto a pigione in una chasa di ghuglielmo adimari, posta ne
chorso degli adimari e nel popolo Sco. Cristofano, — paghone
fior. 15 l'anno.

The contract for the payment of 1900 florins to Donatello
in respect of the Bronze Gates for the Sacristy doors of the
Cathedral, a work which was subsequently entrusted to Luca
della Robbia. (Semper, p. 284.)

21. ii. 1437. Item commiserunt Nicolao Johannotii de
Biliottis et Salito Jacobi de Risalitis duobus ex eorum officio
locandi Donato N. B. B. civi Florentino magistro intagli faciendo
duas portas de bronzo duabus novis sacristiis cathedralis
ecclesie florentine pro pretio in totum flor. 1000 pro eo
tempore et cum illis pactis et storiis et modis pro ut eis
videbitur fore utilius et honorabilius pro dicta opera et quid-
quid fecerint circa predictum intelligatnr et sit ac si factum
foret per totum eorum officium.

Payment for casting the bronze statue of St. Louis for the
Paduan altar; also for two of the Miracle reliefs and two
symbols of the Evangelists. (Gloria.)

19. vi. 1447. E a dl dicto ave M° Andrea dal Mayo
per far getare duy de i miracholli de S. Antonio e dui
guagnelista e un S. Luixe. i quali va in lanchona de laltaro
grande — lire 45 soldi 12.

APPENDIX II 203

Payment to Donatello and some of his assistants. (Gloria.)
11. ii. 1447. E a ill ii dicto ave Donatello da Fiorenza
per so nome de luy e de urbano e de Zuan da Pixa e de
Antonio Celino e de Francesco del Vallente su garzon e de
Nicolo depentor so desipollo over garzon per parte over sora
la anchona over palla el dicto e i dicti de (i.e., devono) fare
al altaro grande del euro (i.e., coro) del santo, — lire cento e
soldi dexe.

APPENDIX III

BOOKS OF REFERENCE

Albertini, " Memoriale di molte statues," 1863 (1st ed.,
Florence, 1510).

Anonimo Morelliano, " Notizie d'opere di disegno," written
about 1530, 1884 (1st ed. 1800).

Bocchi, F., "Eccellenza della statua di San Giorgio,"
Florence, 1584; edited by Cinelli, " Bellezze della cittA di
Firenze," 1677 (1st ed. 1592>

Bode, W., " Donatello a Padoue," Paris, 1883 ; « Florentiner
Bildhauer der Renaissance," Berlin, 1902.

Boito, Camillo, "L'Altare di Donatello," Milan, 1897.

Borghini, u Riposo," Florence, 1730 (1st ed. 1586).

Bottari, G., " Lettere pittoriche," 8 vols. 1822 (1st ed.).

Cellini, B., "Due Trattati," edited by Carlo Milanesi, 1857.

Cicognara, " Storia della scultura," Venice, 1823, 7 vols.

Gauricus, P., " De Sculptura," Florence, 1504.

Gaye, " Carteggio inedito d'artisti," Florence, 1839, 3 vols.

Ghiberti, L., *• Commentaries " in Vasari, vol. i.

Gloria, Michael Angelo, "Donatello fiorentino e le sue
opere, ... in Padova," Padua, 1895.

Gnoli, Article on "Donatello in Rome"; "Arch, storico dell'
arte," 1888.

Gonzati, " La Chiesa di S. Antonio di Padova," 1852, 2 vols.

Gualandi, " Memorie," Bologna, 1840.

Lindsay, Lord, "Christian Art," 1885, 2 vols.

APPENDIX III 205

" L'Osservatore Fiorentino," 1821, 3 vols, (lsted. 1797).

Lusini, V., " II San Giovanni di Siena," Florence, 1901.

Milanesi, C, " Documenti dell' arte Senese," Siena, 1854,
3 vols.

Milanesi, G., " Catalogo delle opere di Donatello," Florence,
1888.

Molinier, E., " Les Plaquettes," Paris, 1886, 2 vols.

Miintz E., " Les Precurseurs de la Renaissance," Paris,
1882; "Donatello," Paris, 1885.

Perkins, C, "Tuscan Sculptors," 1864, 2 vols.

Reymond, M., u La Sculpture Florentine," Florence, 1898.

Richa, "Notizie istoriche," Florence, 1754, 10 vols.

Schmarsow, A., "Donatello," Breslau, 1886.

Semper, H., " Donatellos Leben und Werke," Innsbruck,
1887; "Donatello, seine zeit und Schule," Vienna, 1875.

Semrau, M., " Donatello's Kanzeln in San Lorenzo," Breslau,
1891.

Tanfani-Centofanti, " Notizie di Artisti . . . Pisani," Pisa,
1898.

Titi, " Ammaestramento Utile," Rome, 1686.

Vasari, " Vite dei Pittori," Florence, Lemonnier, ed. 1846,
14 vols. (1st ed. 1550).

Von Tschudi, " Donatello e la critica moderna," Turin, 1887.

INDEX

Abraham : statue, 10, 30

Alburti, L. B. : on Art, 22

A in bras : entombmcut, 177

Ammaiiati : sculptor, 102

Amorino : bronze, Bargello, 113, 114

Ancona : Baptist for, 59

Andre" (Madame) Collection : Prophet,
7 ; St. John, 57 ; profile warrior, 98 ;
bronze children, 114 ; marble boy,
115 ; Gonzaga bust, 127 ; St-Sebastian,
177

Andrew, St. : statue (lost), 199

Annunciation ; Sta. Croce, 49,113, 154

Ansel in, St. : projected shrine, 199

Autonio, St. : at Padua, bronze, 153

Aquila, Andrea del. : sculptor, 191

Aragazzi : see Tombs

Architect : Donatcllo as, 59, 05

Arduino : engineer, 143

Aretino : letter from, 76

Assistants, Donatello's : Moscatello, 64,
168 ; Giovanni da Pisa, 75, 168, 190,
203 ; Naui, G., 167 ; Cocaro, N., 168 ;
Meo of Florence, 168; Pipo of
Florence, 168 ; Antonio of Lugano,
168 ; Bartolomnieo of Fcrrara, 168 ;
Jacomo, goldsmith, 168 ; Squarcione,
150; Giovanni daBecato,168 ; Fran-
cesco del Mayo, 168; Andrea dclle
Caldierc, 168; Urbano da Cortona,
1G8, 169; Francesco Valente, 168, 203;
Antonio of Pisa, 168 ; Bcllano, 170,
190; Bertoldo, 189, 191

Assumption : Brancacci tomb, 80

Assyrian low relief, 81

Athos, Mount : conventionalised art,
22

Aureliua, M. : equestrian statue, 173

Banco, Nanni di : sculptor, 30, 190
Bandinelli, 46, 102, 186

Baptist, St. John : see St. John

Baptistery gates, 2 ; competition, 3 ;
Magdalen, 144 ; Coscia tomb, 73

15 inlini Collection : Madonna, 54, 185 ;
fountain, 66 ; tomb slab, 85 ; Cruci-
fixion, 178

Bas-rolief : its limitations, 137

Bastianini, 182

Battoni, P. : painter, 145

Becchi : shield, 68

Beckerath : Madonna, 182

Bellano, 170, 189, 190

Benda Collection : bust, 118

Benedetto da Maiano, 191

Bentivoglio : medal of, 82

Bergamo : Madonna, 183

Berlin Museum : bust, terra cotta, 120 ;
Gonzaga, bronze, 127; bronze head
of old man, 128 ; St. John, bronze,
147 ; putto, bronze, from Siena, 114 ;
Flagellation, marble, 178; David,
bronze, 52 ; Madonnas, 180

Bernardino, St. : projected 6tatue, 146,
199

Bertoldo, 189, 191

Blondius, F., 193

Bocchi : passim

Bologna: sculpture at, 9, 85, 143

Boni : shield, 68

Boniface VIII. : statues of, 9

Bono d'Kste : projected statue, 199

Botticelli, 99

Bramantino : drawings, 00

Brancacci : see Tombs

Brouzino, 52, 102

Brosses, des : criticisms, 138, 144

Brunei lesco : model for gates, 3 ; co-
operation with Donatello, 37, 200

lUi^iano, 191

Busts : Benda Collection, 118 ; Dreyfus
Collection, 118; Duko of West-

208

INDEX

minster's Collection, 118 ; Halnauer
Collection, 119; Faenza St. John,
119; Martclli St. John, 118; San
Lorenzo, Florence, 126 ; St. Cecilia,
London, 126; Gonzaga bronze, 127
old man's head, bronze, 128; Gatta
melata, 99, 129; Vanchettoni, 118
Vecchio Barbuto, Florence, 130
Roman Emperor, Florence, 130
old woman, bronze, 130; San Kos-
sore, 130, 201 ; Niccol6 da Uzzano,
121

Caldieke, Andrea, Donatello's bronze

caster, 168
Camondo, Comtede: Crucifixion, 178
Canigiani : Palazzo, sculpture, 191
Canon of Art, 20
Cautoria : San Lorenzo, 64 ; Cathedral,

103, 107, 199 ; Luca della Robbia's,

106-8
Capodalista: horse, 175
Castiglione : Sabba del, 119, 193
Cecilia, St. (London), 126 ; ditto, Lord

Wemyss, 172
Cellini, B., 141, 193
Charge to Peter (London), 95
Chartres Cathedral : statuary, 41
Cherichini, supposed portrait of, 20
Childhood, Donatello's representation

of, 103
Chimaera : Etruscan, 69
Choristers of bronze, Padua, 163
Cinelli : passim
Ciuffagni : sculptor, 60, 66
Civitali, M., sculptor, 13
Classical influences, 4, 90, 103, 104 ;

architecture, 160
Cocaro, Donatello's assistant, 168
Colle, Simone da : sculptor, 3
Colleone: equestrian statue, 150
Colossi, 34

Coronation window, 60
Coscia : see Tombs
Cozzarolli : sculptor, 192
Criticism on Donatello, early, 193 ;

later, 93
Croce, Santa, sculpture in, 49, 113, 38
Crowds : Donatello's treatment of, 156
Crucifix : Santa Croce, 47, 156
Crucifixion : Bargello bronze, 178 ;

Camondo, bronze, 178; Berlin, 178
Cyriac of Ancona, 194

Daniel : statue, 10

„ St., at Padua, bronze, 154

Dante, 45, 90

Davauzati : shield, 68

David: marble statue, 16; Martelli's

statue, 52 ; bronze, 99; Berlin, 52
Dello : his epitaph, 13
Denunzia, 1, 76, 201
Desiderlo, 133, 191
Doni, A. : criticism of Ghiberti, 138
Dovizia : statue, 142, 199
Drapery: Donatello's treatment of, 31
Drawings by Donatello, 60
Dreyfus Collection : marble bust, 118 ;

Christ and St. John, relief, 133 ; St.

Jerome, bronze, 170 ; Madonna

bronze, 177; Verrochio, putto, 105

Eagle : the Walpole, 162
Entombment: Vienna, 177

„ Padua: marble, 161

Eremitani altar, 169
Evangelist symbols at Padua, 161

„ „ Siena, 169

Eve : bas-relief, 142

Faenza: bust of St John, 119; St.

Jerome, 148
Faith : statuette at Siena, 71
Fazio, B., 193
Filarete, 91
Flagellation : London, 62 ; Paris, 177 ;

Berlin, 177
Flaxman's criticism, 93
Florence : Cathedral facade, 6, 8, 9 ;

cupola, 65 ; cautoria, 107 ; sacristy

carving, 116 ; window, 60; colossi,

34 ; gates, 200, 202
Font : Siena, 70, 105, 201 ; at Pietra

Santa, 191
Fontainebleau : Madonna, 184
Fountains, 66, 70
Francis, St. : at Padua, 163
Fulgosio : monument, Padua, 168

Gagini : sculptors, 131

Gattamelata : bust, 9 9, 1 2 9 ; tombs, 171;

equestrian statue, 173
Gauricus, 60, 73, 193
Gems : employment of, 97-99 ; 129
George, St. : statue, 39 ; relief, 42, 72
Ghilxjrti : bronze gates, 3, 137 ; relation

with Donatello, 190; classical ideas,

89, 91
Ghiberti, Vettorio: drawings, 63,74
Ghini : Simone, 88

Giacomone da Faenza: drawings, 156
Gianfigliazzi : shield, 68

INDEX

201)

Gilbert, Alfred, K.A., 82

Giovauui da Pisa, 75, 168, 190

203
Giuliano : Donatello's nephew, 2, 202
Goliath : statue (lost), 199
Gonzaga, Louis of : bust, 127
Gori : criticisms, 93
Gothic Art : Donatello's relations with,

5, 42 ; survivals of, 91
Gozzoli, Benozzo, 9
Grouping : Donatello's ideas of, 30, 138,

142, 161
Guidarelli : monument, 171

Habakkuk: statue, 23

Hands: Donatello's treatment of, 31

Henry VII. : tomb of, 136

Heraldic sculpture, 67

Hertford House : reliefs, 110

Hope : statuettes, 71, 75

Horse of Colleone, 174; Gattamelata,

173 ; Capodalista, 174
Horse's head : Naples, 175
Horses of St. Mark's, Venice, 173 ; of

Monte Cavallo, 189

Icarus in Greek Art, 165
Ilaria del Caretto: tomb, 82
Intarsia, 161
Isotta da Rimini, 163

Jeremiah : statue, 20

Jerome, St.: Faenza, 148

John XXIII. : see Tombs, Cose i a

St. John Bapt. : Campanile statue, 18 ;
Martelli statue, 56 ; Bargello statue,
57, 58 ; Dilke Collection, 57 ; Orvieto,
59, 147 ; Ancona, 59 ; Rome, 96, 57 ;
Faenza, 119; Louvre, 120; Berlin,
bronze, 146; Berlin, terra-cotta, 120;
Siena, 146; Venice, 146 ; Hainauer
Collection, 149

St. John Ev. : statue, 14 ; reliefs, 134

Judith, 140

Justina, St. : at Padua, 154

Kalfmann : Madonna, 182; statuette,
189

Lafrefi : engraver, 189

Lasca, 193

Lavabo, San Lorenzo, 67

Laurana, F. : sculptor, 131

Leopardi, 175

Ligorio : architect, 90

Lille relief, 5, 72, 113

Lions in Florence, 67-9

London collection : Flagellation, 62 ;
charge to Peter, 95 ; St. Cecilia, 126 ;
marble relief of woman, 132 ; Mag-
dalen, 149; lamentation over dead
Christ, 188 ; shrine of St. Justina,
171 ; Martelli pa tera,176; Deposition,
bronze, 178; oval Madonna, 184;
bronze boy, 115

Lorenzo, San ; pulpits, 107, 186; sac-
risty, 133, 139; bronze doors, 135;
lavabo, 191; statues perished, 199

Lorenzetti; early paintings, 145

Louis, St. : bronze Santa Croce, 38 ;
bronze at Padua, 155, 202

Louvre collection ; Pot tomb, 79 ; bronze
by Valadler, 97 ; marble Baptist,
120 ; drawings, 61 ; Madonnas, 181-
185 ; painting of St. John, 120 ;
portrait of Donatello, 195; Flagella-
tion, 177

Lucca, Siege of, 65

Luke, St. : statue, 1 2 i

Lytton, Karl of, medallion portrait, 82

Madonnas; Rardini, 54, 178, 181;
Beckerath, 182 ; Berlin, Pazzi, mar-
ble, 181 ; Orlandini, marble, 181 ;
S. M. M. dei Pazzi, 185; Brancacci,
80 ; Capella Medici, group, 185 ;
Conrajod, 185 ; Dreyfus Desiderio,
81, 177 ; delle Treppe, 192 ; Eremi-
tani, Paris, 184 ; Fontainebleau, 184 ;
Kaufmanu, 182 ; London-Weisbach,
oval, 184 ; Milau, Pierino da Vinci,
81 ; Madonna of the Rose, London,
183 ; Padua, large bronze, 152 ;
small relief, 180 ; Pietra Piana, 182';
Piot,Louvre, 55-183 ; Quincy Shaw,
81 ; Siena Cathedral, 181 ; Verona,
182 ; Wemyss, Earl of, 81

Magdalen : Florence baptistery, 144 ;
London, 149 ; Berlin, 149

Malatcsta Annalena : bust, 130

Mandorla door : prophets, 7

„ „ profile heads, 34

Manetti : biographer, 63, 195 ; sup-
posed portrait, 1 1

Manteana : relation to Domtello, 96
150, 161,187

Mark, St. : statue, 37

Martelli, David, 52, 113 ; patera, 276 ;
shield, 68; St. John, 118

Martin V. : tomb of, 88

Marzocco, 67

Masaccio: paintings by, 195, 161, 164

210

INDEX

bone's he*d, 175

Medallions fat Medici palace, 97

MeJallMte, 55, 83

Medici : fountain, 166 ; exile, 88, 97 ;
medallion*. 97 ; Lorenzo de', 175

Medici, Capella, 185

Mengs, B. : criticism by, 57, 93

Meo : Donatello's assistant, 168

Michael Angelo : Moses, 15; technique.
55, 101 ; Saa Petronio, 71 ; relat-on
to Donatello's ait, 19S ; Bacchus, 191

Miehelozzo, 39, 43, 48; partnership
with Donatello, 73, 201 : Brancacci
tomb, 77 ; Aragaxzi tomb, 76 ; Prato
pulpit, 109; work at Milan, 115;
statues of St. John, 149

Mino da Fiesote, 53, 191

Miracle reliefs at Padua, 156

Moeenigo : tomb, 14, 41

Montepukiano, Pasquino da, 75

Moatorsoli, 46

Morostni : medallion. 97, 199
15

bronze

Xam : Donatello's assistant, 167
Xanni di Banco, 190, 30
Naples : Brancacci tomb, 77 ;

bone's head, 175
Xarni: see Gattamelata
Xeroccio : sculptor, 70, 180, 19S
Xiccold da Uzxano : bust, 131
Xiccok) Xiccoti, 194
Xollekens,6S
Xade : studies truss, 101

Obadiah : statue, 18
d'Obtnda, Francesco, 193
Orcagna, t

Oriaadini, Madonna, Berlin, 181
Orsa : Donatello's mother, 3, 303
Or saa Michele : niche, 63, 104
Orrieto : Baptist for, 59

Padca in 1443, 149 ; work for altar,

149-176, 303
Pagno di Lap©, 78, 83
Painter : Donatello as, 59
Parthenon, 35, 105, 133
Pasquino da MontepuleJaao, 75
Patera Martelli, 176
Pazzi, Madonna, Berlin, 181
Paxxi: fountain, 66 ; shield, 68 ; frieze.

135
Pellegrini : chapel, 135, 184
Perseus, by Cellini, 141
Ferugino : drawing by, 60

Peruzzi : drawings by, 6u

Peter, St. : statue, 36

Petrarch, 90

Piero, Xieeolo di ; sculptor, 1S4

Pieta at Padua, bronze, 164

Piot : Madonna, 65

Pisa ; Donatello at, 59, 78

Pisano Xiccolo, 91

Pistoja : silver altar, 191

Plaquettes, 176

Pocetti, B. : drawing of facade of

Duomo, 10
Poggio : statue, 13 ; on Borne, 90
Polities, influence of, 143
Pollaiuolo : bis battle-piece, 179
Polychromaey, 131
Portrait of Donatello, 195
Pot tomb, Louvre, 79
Prato pulpit, 109
Procdoeimus, St. : at Padua, bronze,

155
Pulpit Prato, 109

„ San Lorenzo, 186

Qr auatesi : shield, 68
Querela : Jacopo dells, 3, 70, 53 ;
his school, 191 ; Siena font, 70

Realism, 36

Beymond, Marcel : criticism, 108

Reynolds, Sir J. : on drapery, 31 ; on
Gothic art, 45

Biccio, 191

Kobbia : Andrea della, 104 ; Donatel-
lo's pall bearer, 194

Kobbia : Luca della, 73 ; cantoris, 106,
108 ; portraits by, 125 : bronze doors,
135, 303; lunettes, 151

Borne : Donatello's first journey to. i ;
statue of St. John at, 57 ; Crivelli
tomb, 8 3 ; Donatello's second journey
to, 88; Borne in 1433, 88 ; tabernacle
in St. Peter's, 94

Boesellino, 66, 91, 119, 191

Basso : sculptor, 18, 191

Bossore, San : bust, 130, 301

Savoxaeola, 31

Sebastian, St. : bronze. M. Andre, 177

„ wood (now lost), 199

Sense of distance, 33

„ „ light and shade, 29

.. „ proportion, 30

„ „ nature, 27
Sermoneta : Dues di, 9
Shields: heraldic, 67 ; Martelli, 68

INDEX

211

Siena : cathedral font, 70, 201 ; figures
from font, 114, 105 ; Pcccl tomb, 84;
marble Madonna, 181 ; St. John
Baptist, 146 ; statues on facade, 175

Simone : sculptor, 2, 88, 191

Soderini : supposed portrait of, 20

Sogliani, T. : work on Magdalen, 144

Sportello Venice, 1 7 7
„ Siena, 71

Squarcione, 150

Stiacciato, 80

Strabo : on marble, 78

Strozzi Filippo, 91

Strozzi Palla, 150

Summonte, 194

Sword hilt at Turin, 176

Symbols of Evangelists: Padua, 161

Tabernacle in Rome, 94

Technique : Donatello's, 53

Tita : Donatello's sister, 2, 202

Tombs : Coscia, drawings for, 61 ;
history of, 72 ; Brancacci, 73, 77 ;
Assumption, 80; Martin V., 88;
Aragazzi, 73, 76; Medici Giovanni
de\ 72 ; Caretto, 82 ; Sixtus IT, 82 ;
Albizzi, 83 ; Cbellini, 83 ; Accaiuoli.
83 ; Crivelli, 83 ; Peed, 84 ; Scali-
gers, 86 ; Rococo style, 87 ; Salta-
rello, 109 ; Pulgosio, 168 ; Gattame-
Uta, 171 ; Royeelli, 170

Torrigiano, 80, 136

Turin sword hilt, 1 76

Turini, 70, 192

Ucello Paolo : painter, 69, 19S
Uffizzi gallery : drawings, 60
Urbano da Cortona, 191
Czzano, Niccolo da : bust, 121

Valadier : sculptor, 97

Valente : Donatello's assistant, 168, 203

Vandalism. 8

' „ in Rome, 88
Vassari : passim
Vecchietta : sculptor, 191
Venice : bones of St. Mark's, 173
„ statue of St. John, 146
Sportello, 177
Verdiana, St. : reliquary, 200
Verona: Madonna, 182; sculpture on

cathedral, 124; sculpture on San

Zeno, 124
Verrochio, 73, 99, 101, 105, 174
Vienna: entombment, 177
Vinci : Leonardo da, 22, 29, 66
Visconti,1 Marquise A. : Collection, 185

132

Wallace Collection : reliefs, 110
Warfare : Donatello and, 65
Weisbach : Madonna, 184
Wemyss, Karl of, collection : Madonna,

81 ; St. Cecilia, 172 ; Walpoie eagle,

162
Wood : employment in sculpture, 148

Zero, Sa> : Verona, 124
Zuccone : statue, 26, 96

Printed by Ballantyne, Hanson «V Co.
London <y Edinburgh

Uniform with this Volume

MICHAEL ANGELO
BUONARROTI

CHARLES HOLROYD

CURATOR OF THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF BRITISH ART

With Fifty-two Illustrations

" Mr. Holroyd has done excellent service. This story of a mar-
vellous career is full of human charm. . . . Valuable book." — Standard.

"A serviceable and competent biography which many will be glad
to see. . . . Numerous and excellent illustrations." — Literary World.

" A book that both the student and the general reader will find full
of interest. Extremely interesting and vividly recorded." — Westminster
Gazette.

" Mr. Holroyd's comprehensive study will be found useful and
interesting. The illustrations are numerous and good." — Manchesttr
Guardian.

"A really admirable picture of one who is perhaps the greatest
personality in the history of Art ; and a sympathetic, yet critical
account of his works. Mr. Holroyd writes with knowledge and en-
thusiasm. . . . Numerous and well-executed illustrations." — Yorkshire
Post.

"This excellent work . . . is as suited to the general reader as to
the artist. We do not find those deserts of literary speculation so
common to the lives of artists." — Spectator.

"The volume gives in a convenient form almost everything that
the student for whom it is intended will need to know about Michael
Angelo, and will prove a safe guide to his works. The illustrations
are well chosen. . . . We are especially grateful for the engravings of
those frescoes in the Pauline Chapel which every one writes about and
no one publishes." — New York Evening Post,

THE PUBLISHERS HAVE ARRANGED TO ISSUE A

LIBRARY OF ART

IN STYLE SIMILAR TO THIS VOLUME

ALL SCHOOLS AND PERIODS will be
represented, but only the Greatest Masters will
emerge as Biographies. The rest will be treated
in relation to their fellows and forertmners as
incidents of a development.

The Series will, it is hoped, reflect the subject
in its true proportions more closely than has been
attempted hitherto. At the same time, the scope
of the Series will admit of occasional monographs
on little-known artists, when some specialist has
been able to throw light by new researches on
an obscure Period. The cesthetic side will not
be neglected, but the aim will be to make the
Series a store-house of that positive knowledge
which must form the basis of all opinion.

The folbwing is a List of the Volumes ncrw
arranged for

THE CRITICISM OF ART

By A. J. FINBERG

SIX GREEK SCULPTORS

MYRON, PHEIDIAS
POLYKLEITOS, SKOPAS, PRAXITELES, AND LYSIPPOS

By ERNEST GARDNER
Professor of Greek Archaeology at University College, London

ROMAN ART, FROM AUGUSTUS
TO CONSTANTINE

By Mrs. ARTHUR STRONG (Eugenie Sellers), LL.D.

MEDIEVAL ART, TO GIOTTO

By W. R. LETHABY

DUCCIO, AND THE BEGINNINGS
OF ITALIAN PAINTING

By PROFESSOR LANGTON DOUGLAS

GIOTTO

By B. DE SELINCOURT

GHIRLANDAJO AND THE EARLIER
FLORENTINES

By BECKWITH SPENCER

Assistant Professor at the South Kensington School of Art

DONATELLO

By LORD BALCARRES [Ready.

PISANELLO

By G. F. HILL

Of the Department of Coins and Medals in the British Museum

THE THREE BELLINI AND THE
EARLIER VENETIANS

By G. McNEIL RUSHFORTH
Late Director of the British School at Rome

MICHAEL ANGELO BUONARROTI

By CHARLES HOLROYD [Ready.

RAPHAEL AND HIS SCHOOL
IN ROME

By C. RICKETTS

TITIAN

By DR. GEORG GRONAU

DURER CORREGGIO

By T. STURGE MOORE By T. STURGE MOORE

FRENCH PAINTING IN THE
SIXTEENTH CENTURY

By L. DIMIER [Immediately.

44-166

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