Betto Bardi Analysis

Donatello is a world renowned sculptor and artist that was born in Florence Italy in 1386 to a member of the Florentine Wool Combers Guild named Niccolo di Betto Bardi. With Donatello stacher as a son of a tradesman, he was able to be schooled at the home of a wealthy and influential Florentine family of bankers and art that are closely tied to the Medici family. Some of Donatello most famous works of statues are the bronze and marble David, Penitent Mary Magdalene, Saint George, and Equestrian Monument of Gattamelata. Donatello had a deep understanding of ornamentation and classic forms, that important knowledge would eventually change 15-century Italian art. Donatello is died on December 13, 1466 of natural causes.

Born on 6 of March 1475, Caprese Italy, Michelangelo is known as an architect, artist, poet, engineer and sculptor.

This nude sculpture shows a feminine aspect. For example, David stands with the left thigh exposed. The way he holds a sword and the way he leans his weight (contrapposto), all perfectly stand out the character of David. Contrappdosto is an Italian word meaning an asymmetrical arrangement of the human figure where the lines of the arms and shoulders are contrasted in order to balance the hips and legs while standing. In other words, Donatello’s David is very sensual, especially his sexual expression. This sculpture is a mixture of female and male traits; its idea is to describe the realism without mythical and big muscles as was found in the Hellenistic period.

Filippo Brunelleschi was born in Florence, Italy in the year 1377. His early life is relatively unknown. He became a goldsmith, sculptor, engineer, artist and architect. He was one of the leading architects in the Renaissance Era and has been referred to as the “First Renaissance Architect.” Brunelleschi is accredited for the invention of linear perspective. This concept helped pave the way for the Renaissance artist in the 15th century, such as Da Vinci and Michelangelo. He also designed great pieces of architecture, such as the Basilica of San Lorenzo and Ospedale Degli Innocenti.

Andrea del Verrocchio is a painter and sculptor and da Vinci was an apprentice of his.

In this essay I will be discussing about the art works of Donatello’s David (1437) and Michelangelo’s David (1504) as how they have contributed to the advancement of Western Art in history. I will be explaining my content by laying emphasis on the style of art, innovation, its importance and particular differences between the both art works.

Donatello was one of the greatest Florentine sculptor of the Renaissance era, before Michelangelo [1386-1466] and was the most significant unique artist of the 15th century in Italy. Donatello was known for creating lots of sculptures in which some he emphasized the nude in his sculptures. One of Donatello`s famous work was the bronze sculpture “David”. The “David” sculpture, emphasized the ideal figure of nudity capturing natural representation of balance and proportion. Donatello studied the anatomy of the human body in order to understand how to best represent his sculptures; as a noted scientific approach. That approach to his work was consider as “Classical” which influences are easy to see. So, with

Michelangelo’s full name is Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni and is Italian. He was born on March 6,1475 in Caprese, Italy and died on February 18, 1564 in Rome, Papal States. When to Florence Grammar School to study grammar under the master Francesco da Urbino, but had no interest in it or the family business of finance. Instead he copied paintings from several churches in Italy. Also, he meets various painters who influenced him to pursue his art education. His

Giovanni Bellini, an Italian renaissance painter. He came from a family of artists but not much is known about this part of his life, his career on the other hand is a major focus of Renaissance advances. His skills brought realism to paintings that weren’t there before. Without him, realism painting may never have taken off, plus historical understanding of his time may never had advanced in the ways it did. Giovanni Bellini was an Italian hand to sway the tide of artistic history.

The word "renaissance" is literally translated to "rebirth". It was the rebirth of many things, and in many ways. It began in Northern Italy in about 1350, after the Black Death killed about one third of the population; so the renaissance could even be considered the rebirth of the nation. It was mainly however, the rebirth of art, literature, education, and even religion. Donatello earned a reputation for himself for creating "larger-than-life" sculptures with many different techniques that he developed and then introduced to the renaissance era. He was also very well known for flawlessly depicting human emotions such as suffering, joy, and sorrow in his drawings, which he would later turn into sculptures. Giotto de Bondone was another famous

Donatello had a reputation as one of the greatest sculptors and impacted the future of art. He died in December of 1466, at 70 years old. In his final years he created multiple wooden sculptures that were not as well received by the public. F.Donatello was one of the most influential artists in Italy and has not been forgotten

“Donatello was not only the great realist who has won general praise, but an artist of strong classical tendencies as well (Sirén. p.440)”. Donatello was the son of a craftsman who was to follow his father’s path. He was educated on learning about metallurgy and using metals. That is where he started to learn about using bronze when he witnessed Lorenzo Ghiberti make a door out of bronze (DonatelloBiography.com). Donatello was one of the greatest sculptures of the Renaissance. According to the article "The Importance of the Antique to Donatello" it states, that Donatello started off his artistic career portraying a bit gothic. Two of his early gothic sculptures were David and Porta della Mandona. The article also states that Donatello’s St. George was a very good example of the classical Early Renaissance. Donatello used a wide verity of techniques and style when making sculptures, putting in a lot of emotions and making each one unique. Some of Donatello’s unique sculptors are Cupid, Mary Magdalen, Piazza del Santo, St. Mark, St. George and many

Viewing themselves as heirs to Ancient Rome, the Florentines spearheaded the Humanist movement, believing that they were the ideal city state to inherit Rome’s prestige. They not only wanted to be like Rome, they wanted to become Rome, a centre for the arts as well as politics. This interest in the Greco-Roman style of art is what led to the advancement in sculptural technique. Additionally, there was a surge in patriotism due to the end of the plague and a break in the war against Milan. In celebration, the Florentines decided to beautify the city, to display their growing power. Another reason for decorating Florence however, was so that the citizens could show their solidarity towards their community and give back to city which they so dearly loved. Such civic values not only inspired the citizens, but also the sculptors, especially Donatello, with his creation of David. He stood for Florence and her liberty. For triumph over tyranny. However, the fight was not over yet, as Florence would have to face off against tyranny once again in the next

To begin, Michelangelo and Donatello’s David, show the features of the early and high Italian Renaissance. Furthermore, they represent the portrayal of the same Greek hero, but with different postures. The body details show the same pride, arrogance, and fortitude. However, Michelangelo’s David shows more masculine details than Donatello’s version. Moreover, they are both influenced by the anatomical ideals of the Greek and Roman cultures. The three masterpieces also show the artists great skills, which they certainly possessed. I am convinced that the three sculptures are nude or partially nude, because they are indicating that David was a pure man. Both Michelangelo and Bernini’s sculptures depict a younger man, in comparison to Donatello’s

The next sculpture that Michelangelo was commissioned to work on was the Pieta sculpture which was made for French cardinal, Jean Villiers de Fezencac. The cardinal wanted a sculpture of the Virgin Mary and Jesus. Michelangelo signed a contract for the sculpture to be completed in one year. Not only did he finish the sculpture, he did an outstanding job. The Pieta consists of an intimate scene of the Virgin Mary sitting with the dead body of her son Jesus across her lap. (italianrenaissance.org). Michelangelo made a name for himself through this artwork. The Pieta sculpture was one out of his artworks that made his talents generally known to the public. The sculpture was filled with so much emotion and detailed meaning. Every inch and curve represented something significant. There is a presence of an extraordinary relationship that Michelangelo has constructed between the body of the dead Christ and his mother Mary who holds