Donatello

Donatello

The Project Gutenberg eBook, Donatello, by David Lindsay, Earl of
Crawford
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Title: Donatello
Author: David Lindsay, Earl of Crawford

Release Date: April 1, 2006 [eBook #18099]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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DONATELLO***
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Transcriber's note:
In the original text the name "Verrocchio" is, except for one instance,
misspelled as "Verrochio"; the name "Buonarroti" is twice misspelled
as "Buonarotti"; the name "Orcagna" is once misspelled as "Orcagra";
and the name "Vasari" is once misspelled as "Vassari." These have
been corrected in this e-text.
Variants, archaic forms, or Anglicizations of other names (e.g.,
"Michael Angelo" for "Michelangelo"; "Or San Michele" for
"Orsanmichele"; "Brunellesco" for "Brunelleschi") have been retained
as they appear in the original.
Characters with macrons are indicated in brackets, e.g. [=U].
Characters following a caret character are superscripted, e.g. M^a.

DONATELLO
by
LORD BALCARRES

[Illustration: Alinari
CHRIST ON THE CROSS

SANT' ANTONIO, PADUA]

[Illustration: DESORMAIS]

London: Duckworth and Co. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons 1903
All rights reserved Printed by Ballantyne, Hanson & Co. at the
Ballantyne Press

PREFACE
An attempt is made in the following pages to determine the position
and character of Donatello's art in relation to that of his contemporaries
and successors. The subject must be familiar to many who have visited
Florence, but no critical work on the subject has been published in
English. I have therefore quoted as many authorities as possible in
order to assist those who may wish to look further into problems which
are still unsettled. Most of the books to which reference is made can be
consulted in the Art Library at South Kensington, and in the British
Museum. Foreign critics have written a good deal about Donatello from
varied, if somewhat limited aspects. Dr. Bode's researches are, as a rule,
illustrative of the works of art in the Berlin Museum. The main object
of Dr. Semper was to collect documentary evidence about the earlier
part of Donatello's life; Gloria and Gonzati have made researches into
the Paduan period; Lusini confines his attention to Siena, Centofanti to
Pisa; M. Reymond and Eugène Müntz are more comprehensive in their
treatment of the subject.
With eleven or twelve exceptions I have seen the original of every
existing piece of sculpture, architecture and painting mentioned in this
book. I regret, however, that among the exceptions should be a work by
Donatello himself, namely, the Salome relief at Lille--my visits to that
town having unfortunately coincided with public holidays, when the
gallery was closed. I must express my thanks to the officials of
Museums, as well as to private collectors all over Europe, for unfailing

courtesy and assistance. I have also to acknowledge my indebtedness to
the invaluable advice of Mr. S. Arthur Strong, Librarian of the House
of Lords.
21.vi.1903

CONTENTS
PAGE
INTRODUCTION 1
COMPETITION FOR THE BAPTISTERY GATES 2
FIRST JOURNEY TO ROME 3
THE PREDECESSORS OF DONATELLO 5
FIRST WORK FOR THE CATHEDRAL 7
THE CATHEDRAL FAÇADE 8
THE DANIEL AND POGGIO 10
ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST AND THE MARBLE DAVID 14
STATUES OF THE CAMPANILE 17
ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST 18
JEREMIAH AND THE CANON OF ART 20
HABAKKUK AND THE SENSE OF DISTANCE 23
THE ZUCCONE, "REALISM" AND NATURE 26
THE ZUCCONE AND THE SENSE OF LIGHT AND SHADE 29

ABRAHAM AND THE SENSE OF PROPORTION 30
DRAPERY AND HANDS 31
MINOR WORKS FOR THE CATHEDRAL 33
OR SAN MICHELE, ST. PETER AND ST. MARK 35
ST. LOUIS 38
ST. GEORGE 39
DONATELLO AND GOTHIC ART 42
THE CRUCIFIX AND ANNUNCIATION 47
MARTELLI, DAVID, AND DONATELLO'S TECHNIQUE 52
EARLY FIGURES OF ST. JOHN 56
DONATELLO AS ARCHITECT AND PAINTER 59
THE SIENA FONT 70
MICHELOZZO AND THE COSCIA TOMB 72
THE ARAGAZZI TOMB 76
THE BRANCACCI TOMB 77
STIACCIATO 80
TOMBS OF PECCI, CRIVELLI, AND OTHERS 82
THE SECOND VISIT TO ROME 88
WORK AT ROME 94
THE MEDICI MEDALLIONS 97

THE BRONZE DAVID 99
DONATELLO AND CHILDHOOD 103
THE CANTORIA 107
THE PRATO PULPIT 109
OTHER CHILDREN BY DONATELLO 113
BOYS' BUSTS 116
NICCOLÒ DA UZZANO AND POLYCHROMACY 121
PORTRAIT-BUSTS 125
RELIEF-PORTRAITS 131
SAN LORENZO 133
THE BRONZE DOORS 135
THE