Betto Bardi Analysis

Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi most commonly known as “Donatello” was a prominent sculptor from the early renaissance, his father was Niccolo di Betto Bardi, who was a member of the Florentine Wool Combers Guild. He got the nickname “Donatello” from his friends and family. Being the son of a well known craftsman put him on the road to greatness from an early age. His education consisted of studying under the the Martellis, which were a wealthy and well known family of bankers and patrons from Florence that were also closely acquainted with the Medici family. This is also where a young Donatello most likely first started his artistic training from a local goldsmith. In the year 1403, he apprenticed metalsmith and sculptor Lorenzo Ghiberti who was also a native florentine. A couple of years later, Ghiberti was commissioned to manufacture bronze doors for the Florence Cathedral which Donatello

His art featured enormous sculptures that illuminated with his style and technique. His style would consist of realistic expressions such as happiness,pain, and grief that were shown off with the positioning and structure of his pieces. Around the mid 1400’s Donatello began a partnership with a fellow Italian sculptor and architect, Michelozzo who also studied under Lorenzo Ghiberti. Together Donatello and Michelozzo crafted multiple architectural-sculptural tombs, including the tomb of Antipope John XXIII and the tomb of Cardinal Brancacci. Donatello 's most notable piece is “David”, being about five feet tall, David represents civic virtue winning over brutality and irrationality. Near the 1450’s Donatello had returned to florence after finishing his statue on Mary Magdalene which was commissioned by the convent of Santa Maria di Cestello. for the next couple of years Donatello accepted commissions from wealthy patrons. His strong friendship with the Medici’s earned him enough to live out the rest of his life in