Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi was an Italian sculptor, born and raised in Florence, that is better known as Donatello and had a major role to play in the growth of Renaissance art. Having studied classical sculptures in his younger days, he began making his beautiful creations from the ripe young age of 16. He continued to work and develop his unique and stunning style of sculpting.
With his skill at working with a wide variety of materials, including bronze, clay, wax, stone, wood and many others, Donatello was commissioned to create many notable works and made major contributions to the development of Renaissance art. His work has been on display among those of numerous other notable Renaissance artists, like Leonardo Da Vinci and Sandro Botticelli. Here are 20 magnificent masterpieces, forged by the hands of this great artist.
1. Lo Zuccone, now housed in the Museo dell' Opera del Duomo, Florence, Italy
(By Donatello, Wikimedia Commons)
2. The Feast of Herod, now on the baptistry of the Siena Cathedral in Italy
(By Sailko, Wikimedia Commons)
3. The Tomb of Cardinal Rainaldo Brancacci, now at the Sant'Angelo a Nilo in Italy
(By Sailko, Wikimedia Commons)
4. The "Assumption of the Virgin", on the Tomb of Cardinal Rainaldo Brancacci
(By Donatello, Wikimedia Commons)
5. Basilica del Santo Crucifix, now placed on the high altar of the basilica di Sant'Antonio da Padova in Padua, in Northern Italy
(Copy at the Pushkin Museum, Moscow, By Sailko, Wikimedia Commons)
6. The Baptism of Christ, now at the Arezzo Cathedral
(By Donatello, Wikimedia Commons)
7. Judith and Holofernes, now at the Palazzo Vecchio, Florence
(By Sailko, Wikimedia Commons)
8. The Marzocco, the heraldic lion and a symbol of Florence, now housed in the Piazza della Signoria
(By RicciSpeziari, Wikimedia Commons)
9. David, now housed in the Museo Nazionale del Bargello in Florence
(By Donatello, Wikimedia Commons)
10. The Madonna and Child, now housed in the Louvre
(By Sailko, Wikimedia Commons)
11. The Equestrian Statue of Gattamelata, now located in the Piazza del Santo in Padua, Italy,
12. The Penitent Magdalene, now on display in the Museo dell' Opera del Duomo in Florence
(By Sailko, Wikimedia Commons)
13. The San Rossore Reliquary, now in Florence’s Museo Nazionale di San Matteo
(By Donatello, Wikimedia Commons)
14. Virgin and Child with Four Angels, now found in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London
(By VAwebteam, Wikimedia Commons)
15. St George, now in the Bargello Museum, Florence
(By Sailko, Wikimedia Commons)
16. The Santa Croce Crucifix, now in the Cappella Bardi di Vernio, Florence, Italy
(By Sailko, Wikimedia Commons)
17. The Tomb of Antipope John XXIII, in the Florence Baptistry
18. The Pazzi Madonna, now at the Bode-Museum, Berlin
(By Donatello, Wikimedia Commons)
19. Saint Louis of Toulouse, in the Museo di Santa Croce, Florence
(By Sailko, Wikimedia Commons)
20. The Piot Madonna, now in the Louvre
(By Donatello, Wikimedia Commons)
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