Donato Di Betto Bardi Research Paper

Donato di Niccolo di Betto Bardi was born in Florence, Italy around 1386. He was born to Nicolo di Betto Bardi, a member of the Florentine Woolcombers Guild. His friends and family adopted the shortened moniker, Donatello, when he was only a child. This is what we know him as today. Donatello's first educational environment was at the home of the Martellis, a wealthy Florentine family of bankers and patrons closely linked to the Medici family. In the shop of a goldsmith within the Martellis family, Donatello learned metallurgy, fabrication of metals and various materials, and other skills of the trade. In around 1400, he began apprenticing with the metalsmith and sculptor, Lorenzo Ghiberti. In 1402, Lorenzo Ghiberti won a competition, beating out Filippo Brunelleschi, to design gates for the North Baptistery. Donatello was too young to compete, but he assisted Ghiberti in creating and designing the cathedral gates. Through this competition, Donatello became acquainted with Brunelleschi and when Brunelleschi left for Rome, Donatello tagged along. It was here in
It took Donatello ten years to complete the statue and it remains in Padua, Italy at the Piazzo del Santo. This work paved the way for other equestrian statues of this time period, previously equestrian statues were reserved for kings and other rulers. The Equestrian Statue of Gattamelata was an incredible example of the fusion of humanism and individualism with classicism. It sits on a pedestal nearly thirty-five meters high, completely life-like. It is considered one of Donatello's most important and groundbreaking works because of its subject matter and composition. The Gattamelata was created using the lost wax method, which was a standard during that time for bronze statues, but he incorporated an individual, emotional quality that other sculptors had yet to