Donatello (1386-1466) was a master of sculpture in bronze and marble and is 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 created some of the greatest works of art, not only in the Italian Renaissance but human history. 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.
             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 The "David" was originally made for the cathedral but was moved in 1416 to the Palazzo Vecchio, a city hall where it long stood as a civic-patriotic symbol.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 als...