srfmhg Loc: Marin County, CA

There were so many interesting masterpieces in this museum that I couldn't stop taking pictures. There were many works by Donatello - one of my favorite sculptors. Here are a few more that I think you might like. The last link on the list below contains a narrative on the museum.

Here are some excerpts from an extensive article on Donatello.
Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi (c. 1386 – 13 December 1466), better known as Donatello (English: /ˌdɒnəˈtɛloʊ/ Italian: [donaˈtɛllo]), was an Italian sculptor of the Renaissance period. Born in Florence, he studied classical sculpture and used his knowledge to develop an Early Renaissance style of sculpture. He spent time in other cities, where he worked on commissions and taught others; his periods in Rome, Padua, and Siena introduced to other parts of Italy the techniques he had developed in the course of a long and productive career. His David was the first freestanding nude male sculpture since antiquity; like much of his work it was commissioned by the Medici family.

He worked with stone, bronze, wood, clay, stucco, and wax, and used glass in inventive ways. He had several assistants, with four perhaps being a typical number. Although his best-known works are mostly statues executed in the round (tondo)), he developed a new, very shallow, type of bas-relief for small works, and a good deal of his output was architectural reliefs for pulpits, altars and tombs, as well as Madonna and Childs for homes.

Broad, overlapping, phases can be seen in his style, beginning with the development of expressiveness and classical monumentality in statues, then developing energy and charm, mostly in smaller works. Later he reacts against the "sweet style" he had helped to develop, with a number of stark, even brutal pieces. The sensuous eroticism of his most famous work, the bronze David, is very rarely seen in other pieces.

By early 1408 Donatello had acquired sufficient reputation to be given the commission for a life-size prophet for the cathedral, to be paired with another by Nanni di Banco, a brilliant sculptor of Donatello's age, who seems to have been both a rival and friend. In the end they were not placed as intended, probably because they appeared too small from far below, and the Donatello appears to be lost.

In 1415 the cathedral authorities decided to revive and complete medieval projects, and add eight lifesize marble figures for the niches of the higher levels of Giotto's Campanile adjoining the cathedral, as well as complete a row on the cathedral facade (in which Donatello was not involved). All the figures for the campanile series were removed in 1940, to be replaced by replicas with the originals moved to the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo. They were placed very high, and so were seen from a distance, at a sharp angle, factors which needed allowing for in the compositions, and made "fine detail virtually useless for visual effect"; Since 2015 the museum's new displays show this and other statues for the cathedral at the intended original heights.

Donatello was responsible for six of the eight campanile figures, in two cases working with the younger Nanni di Bartolo (il Rosso). The commissions and starts stretched between 1414 and 1423, and while most were completed by 1421, the last of his statues was not finished until 1435. This was the striking Zuccone ("Baldy", or "Pumpkin Head" probably intended as Habakkuk or Jeremiah), the best known of the series, and reportedly Donatello's favourite.

His other statues for the campanile are known as: the Beardless Prophet and Bearded Prophet (both from 1414 to 1420); the Sacrifice of Isaac (with Nanni di Batolo, 1421); il Populano, a prophet not finally finished until 1435.

The visibility of statues high on the cathedral buildings was to remain a concern for the rest of the century; Michelangelo's David was intended for such a place, but proved too heavy to raise and support. Donatello, with Brunelleschi, proposed a large but lightweight solution, and made a prophet Joshua with a brick core, then a modelled layer of clay or terracotta, all painted white. This was put in place on the cathedral some time after 1415, and remained until the 18th century; it was known as the "White Colossus" or homo magnus et albus ("Large White Man").
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donatello

For narratives on Florence and additional images, please see my previous posts:
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-780452-1.html
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-780574-1.html#14042094
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-780644-1.html
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-780747-1.html#14046442
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-780857-1.html
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-781066-1.html#14052114
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-781155-1.html
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-781361-1.html
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-781570-1.html#14062411
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-781764-1.html#14066381
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-781877-1.html#14068369
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-781969-1.html#14070561
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-782046-1.html#14072302
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-782130-1.html#14073789
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-782224-1.html
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-782434-1.html#14079836
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-782523-1.html#14081820
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-782725-1.html
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-782943-1.html#14090979
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-783224-1.html#14097203 (Opera del Duomo Museum)

I hope you enjoy these!
Mark

Filippo Brunelleschi (1377-1446), architect & engineer who designed the dome of the Cathedral

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The wooden statue of Maria Magdalena by Donatello

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Michelangelo's Pietà (begun around 1550) which once stood in the Duomo. The hooded figure of Nicodemus is a self-portrait. The damage to Christ's left leg and arm is believed to have been inflicted by Michelangelo himself

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Zuccone ("Pumpkin Head") Prophet Habakkuk by Donatello done in the 1440s for the Campanile

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Prophet Jeremiah 1423-26 by Donatello

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Scale Model of Brunelleschi's Dome

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the chorus by Luca della Robbia, one of the masterpieces of the 14th century sculpture

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Cantoria di Donatello 1433-1438

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srfmhg Loc: Marin County, CA

Location Map:

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UTMike Loc: South Jordan, UT

All good, but beautiful use of light in #2, Mark!

photophile Loc: Lakewood, Ohio, USA

Well done and interesting subjects.

srfmhg Loc: Marin County, CA

Thanks very much Mike. A little more denoise would have been good on that one since it was shot at iso 51,200!

srfmhg Loc: Marin County, CA

Thanks very much Karin. Good to hear from you.

NMGal Loc: NE NM

You did a great job.

joehel2 Loc: Cherry Hill, NJ

Wow, what a wonderful set, Mark. I visited Florence when I was in my 20’s and didn’t have the appreciation for art that developed in my maturity. I especially loved #1 & 2: #1 for the beautiful composition and the depth added by the light and shadow that you captured; #2 for Donatello’s shocking portrayal of the Penitent Mary Magdalene. The paintings by the 15th and 16th century masters all portray her as a beautiful courtesan, fitting with the Bible story of her anointing the feet of Jesus with a very expensive perfume. Donatello portraying her as a modern day “crack whore” is really challenging for me. Great Art will give you a visceral reaction. Donatello has succeeded. Thanks for sharing the photos and story, I look forward to them. 😊

srfmhg Loc: Marin County, CA

Thanks very much Barbara.

srfmhg Loc: Marin County, CA

Thanks so much Joe for your very insightful comments. I wish we had more time to study and contemplate the works but posting them and researching has its rewards for me.

joehel2 Loc: Cherry Hill, NJ

Thank you for your photos and travelogues, Mark. I’ve learned more from them than I did in my freshman art courses.😊

DJphoto Loc: SF Bay Area

Excellent set Mark.

Tdearing Loc: Rockport, TX

Very nicely done.

yssirk123 Loc: New Jersey

Nice set Mark!

jaymatt Loc: Alexandria, Indiana

I have enjoyed seeing these, Mark.