Donatello
~1386-1466 · Italian (Florentine) · Early Italian Renaissance
Known for: Greatest sculptor of the Early Renaissance whose bronze David was the first free-standing nude since antiquity
Donatello revived classical sculpture and pushed emotional expression further than anyone before him. His bronze David was the first free-standing nude sculpture since Roman times - a revolutionary act. His late wooden Mary Magdalene is among the most raw, emotionally devastating sculptures ever created.
He worked for the Medici for decades but kept his independence. He was uninterested in money, keeping a basket of coins in his workshop for anyone to take.
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