Thesis: Donatello was one of the most important fifteenth-century masters whose bronze statue of David is an enigma.
             Donatello was a gifted sculptor who lived in the fifteenth century and had a great impact on not only the Italian Renaissance but also on the future of art. He was an innovator in his time and his sphere of influence enveloped all those around him. Donatello was one of the most important fifteenth-century masters whose bronze statue of David is an enigma that is unlike Donatello's other works in its different styles and unknown time of origin. First, Donatello's talents and credentials will be discussed. Secondly, points about Donatello's classical style in the sculpting of David and other artists' thoughts about its classical style will be gone over. Next, the different thoughts on the time of David's creation will be discussed. Lastly, the main ideas will be summarized and brought to a conclusion.
             Donatello has earned his place in history. Donatello was not only one of the most important artists in the fifteenth century, but also one of the "most brilliant and representative figures of the Italian Renaissance for he gave visible form...to the intellectual aspirations and achievements of his epoch (Cruttwell 2). Not only was he a great sculptor, but also a leader of the artistic movement of the time. He was equally gifted in the elements of the antique and of modern sentiment, able to blend them seamlessly in his work. He also had the appreciation of "external life peculiar to the Greek and Roman civilizations, with its robust self-reliance and enjoyment of sensuous emotions, and the comprehension of, and respect for, the inner workings of the soul, inherited from the severe, often morbid, self-analysis of medieval Christianity" (Cruttwell 3). Donatello was able to work with any medium. He cast sculptures in bronze, clay, and marble with the same genius. Donatello was able to do with his sculpture, as th...