Donatello

Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi, also know as Donatello, was born in 1386 and died December 13, 1466. Donatello was the preeminent genius of early Renaissance sculpture in Italy. Donatello was born in Florence, the son of a wool comber. When he was 17 years old, he assisted the noted sculptor Lorenzo Ghiberti in constructing and decorating the famous bronze doors of the baptistery of San Giovanni, Florence. Later, Donatello was also an associate of the noted architect …

…made the rider and horse convincingly proportionate to each other, and gave the rider an alert and commanding energy. The work of Donatello influenced that of Florence and northern Italy during the Renaissance. It was also a major stimulus on the development of realism in Italian painting, notably in the work of the great Paduan artist Andrea Mantegna. Donatello, who died on December 13, 1466, had many pupils, the most important of whom was Desiderio da Settignano.