Customer center

We are a boutique essay service, not a mass production custom writing factory. Let us create a perfect paper for you today!

Example research essay topic: John The Evangelist John The Baptist - 1,476 words

NOTE: Free essay sample provided on this page should be used for references or sample purposes only. The sample essay is available to anyone, so any direct quoting without mentioning the source will be considered plagiarism by schools, colleges and universities that use plagiarism detection software. To get a completely brand-new, plagiarism-free essay, please use our essay writing service.
One click instant price quote

&# 9; Donatello (1386 - 1466) was a master of sculpture in bronze and marble and was considered one of the greatest Italian Renaissance artists of his time. There is much more to know about him, though then the name alone. He has created some of the greatest works of art, not only in the Italian renaissance, but human history as well. A lot is known about his life and career but little is known about his character and personality. Donatello never married and seems to be a man of? simple tastes? .

Patrons often found him hard to deal with and he demanded a lot of artistic freedom. &# 9; Early career. &# 9; Donatello, born Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi, was the son of Niccolo di Betto Bardi, a Florentine wool carder. It is not known how he started his career but probably learned stone carving from one of the sculptors working for the cathedral of Florence about 1400. Some time between 1404 and 1407 he became a member of the workshop of Lorenzo Ghiberti who was a sculptor in bronze. Donatello's earliest work was a marble statue of David. The David was originally made for the cathedral but was moved in 1416 to the Palazzo Vecchio, a city hall where it long stood as a civic-patriotic symbol. From the sixteenth century on, the gigantic " David" of Michelangelo, which served the same purpose, eclipsed it.

More of Donatello's early works which were still partly Gothic are the impressive seated marble figure of St. John the Evangelist for the cathedral and a wooden crucifix in the church of Sta. Croce. The full power of Donatello first appeared in two marble statues, St. Mark and St. George which were completed in 1415.

St. George has been replaced and is now in the Bargello. For the first time, the human body is rendered as a functional organism. The same qualities came in the series of five prophet statues that Donatello did beginning in 1416.

The statues were of beardless and bearded prophets as well as a group of Abraham and Isaac in 1416 - 1421 and also the Zuccone and Jeremiah. Zuccone is famous as the finest of the campanile statues and one of the artists masterpieces. Donatello invented his own bold new mode of relief in his marble panel St. George Killing The Dragon (1416 - 1417).

The technique involved shallow carving throughout, which created a more striking effect than in his earlier works. He no longer modeled his shapes but he seemed to paint them with his chisel. Donatello continued to explore the possibilities of the new technique he would use in his marble reliefs of the 1420 s and early 1430 s. The best of these were The Ascension, with Christ Giving the Keys to St. Peter, the Feast of Herod (1433 - 1435), the large stucco roundels with scenes from the life of St. John the Evangelist (1434 - 1437), and the dome of the old sacristy of S.

Lorenzo shows the same technique but with color added. Donatello had also become a major sculptor in bronze. His earliest work of this was the more than life size statue of St. Louis (1423), which was replaced half a century later.

Donatello in partnership with Michelozzo helped with fine bronze effigy on the tomb of the pope John XXIII in the baptistery, the Assumption of the Virgin on the Brancacci tomb and the dancing angels on the outdoor pulpit of the Prato Cathedral (1433 - 1438). His departure from the standards of Brunelleschi did not go to well between the two old friends and was never repaired. Brunelleschi even made epigrams against Donatello. During his partnership with Michelozzo, Donatello made works of pure sculpture, including several works of bronze. The earliest and most important of these was the Feast of Herod (1423 - 1427). He also made two statuettes of Virtues and then three nude child angels (one which was stolen and is now in the Berlin museum).

These statues prepared the way for the bronze statue of David, the first large scale, and freestanding nude statue of the Renaissance. It was the most classical of Donatello's works and was done for a private patron. Its recorded history begins with the wedding of Lorenzo the magnificent in 1469, when it was placed in the courtyard of the Palazzo Vecchio. Whether the David was requested by the Medici or not, Donatello worked for them (1433 - 1443), producing sculptural decorations for the Old Sacristy in S. Lorenzo, the Medici church.

Works there included ten large reliefs in colored stucco and two sets of small bronze doors that showed saints. &# 9; Padua period. &# 9; In 1443 Donatello was about to start work on two more bronze doors for the cathedral. He started work on a statue of Erasmo da Name, called Gattamelata, who had died shortly before. Donatello did most of the work on the statue between 1447 and 1450 but the statue was not placed on the pedestal until 1453. It shows him in classical armor, the baton of command in his raised right hand. This statue was the ancestor of all the monuments erected since, its fame spread far and wide.

Even before it was on public view, the King of Naples wanted Donatello to do the same kind of statue for him. In the early 1450 s, Donatello started to work on some important works for the Padua church of S. Antonio. These works included a bronze crucifix and a new high altar. His richly decorated architectural works of marble and limestone includes seven life-size bronze statues, twenty-one bronze reliefs of various sizes, and a large limestone relief, Entombment of Christ.

The housing for these was destroyed a century later and the present arrangement, dating from 1895 is wrong historically. The Madonna and St. Francis are outstanding and the finest of the reliefs are the four miracles of St. Anthony.

Donatello was great in handling large numbers of figures (one relief has more than one hundred), which predicts the construction standards of the High Renaissance. Donatello was not doing much work the last three years at Padua, the work for the S. Antonio altar was unpaid for and the Gattamelata monument not placed until 1453. Offers of other places reached him from Mantua, Modena, Ferrara, and even Naples, but nothing came of them. He was clearly passing through a crisis that prevented him from working.

He was later quoted as saying that he almost died among those frogs in Padua. " In 1456 the Florentine physician Giovanni Cellini noted he had successfully treated the master for a protracted illness. Donatello only completed two works between 1450 and 1455, the wooden statue St. John the Baptist and a figure of Mary Magdalen. Both works show new reality; Donatello's formerly powerful bodies have become withered and spidery. When the Magdalen was damaged in the 1966 flood at Florence, restoration work revealed the original painted surface, including realistic flesh tones and golden highlights throughout the saints hair. &# 9; Late Florentine period. &# 9; During his absence, a new generation of sculptors who excelled in the treatment of marble surfaces had rose in Florence.

With the change in Florentine taste, all of Donatello's important requests came from outside Florence. They included the bronze group Judith and Holofernes which is now standing before the Palazzo Vecchio and a bronze statue of St. John the Baptist for Siena cathedral, also undertook the work of the pair of bronze doors in the late 1450 s. This project, which might have rivaled Ghibertis doors for the Florentine baptistery, was abandoned about 1460 for unknown reasons. The last years of Donatello's life were spent designing twin bronze pulpits for S.

Lorenzo, and again in the service of his old patrons the Medici, he died on December 13, 1466. These twin bronze pulpits covered with reliefs showing the passion of Christ are works of tremendous spiritual depth and complexity. Even though some parts were left unfinished, they had to be completed by lesser artists. &# 9; Even up to today; Donatello? s works seem to stand through the test of time.

His skill and art was unparalleled by any of his time. His beauty will continue to delight and inspire future generations; clearly, it is what the Italian renaissance strived for- perfection of one? s self. &# 9; &# 9; " Donatello. " Webster? s New Dictionary. New York: Geddes & Grosset Ltd, 1990. &# 9; Heart, A Kent. Donatello. " Microsoft Encarta 97 Encyclopedia.

Seattle: Microsoft, 1997. &# 9; Stokstad, Marilyn. Art History, Revised edition. 2 vols. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1999. &# 9; Wadsworth, Frank. Donatello. The World Book Encyclopedia. Ed.

D. 5 vols. Chicago: World Book, 1983 Donatello. Encyclopedia. com. 17 November 1999 web


Free research essays on topics related to: palazzo vecchio, john the baptist, italian renaissance, john the evangelist, bronze statue

Research essay sample on John The Evangelist John The Baptist

Writing service prices per page

  • $18.85 - in 14 days
  • $19.95 - in 3 days
  • $23.95 - within 48 hours
  • $26.95 - within 24 hours
  • $29.95 - within 12 hours
  • $34.95 - within 6 hours
  • $39.95 - within 3 hours
  • Calculate total price

Our guarantee

  • 100% money back guarantee
  • plagiarism-free authentic works
  • completely confidential service
  • timely revisions until completely satisfied
  • 24/7 customer support
  • payments protected by PayPal

Secure payment

With EssayChief you get

  • Strict plagiarism detection regulations
  • 300+ words per page
  • Times New Roman font 12 pts, double-spaced
  • FREE abstract, outline, bibliography
  • Money back guarantee for missed deadline
  • Round-the-clock customer support
  • Complete anonymity of all our clients
  • Custom essays
  • Writing service

EssayChief can handle your

  • essays, term papers
  • book and movie reports
  • Power Point presentations
  • annotated bibliographies
  • theses, dissertations
  • exam preparations
  • editing and proofreading of your texts
  • academic ghostwriting of any kind

Free essay samples

Browse essays by topic:

Stay with EssayChief! We offer 10% discount to all our return customers. Once you place your order you will receive an email with the password. You can use this password for unlimited period and you can share it with your friends!

Academic ghostwriting

About us

© 2002-2024 EssayChief.com