Chapter 1
Breaking the stone mold
Chapter 2
The bronze boy who shocked Florence
Chapter 3
Riding high in Padua
Chapter 4
The raw beauty of old age
YOUR GOAL
Master of How Donatello carved human souls into stone
Ch 2 · The bronze boy who shocked Florence
andy Donatello's Bronze David
Bare in bronze, bare in bronze, he's shaking up Florence with no armor on!
andy Around 1440, Cosimo de' Medici commissioned the bronze David for his private Florence courtyard, keeping it safe from
Fun Fact
Hidden feathers: A feather from Goliath's helmet climbs surprisingly high up the leg of Donatello's bronze David, sparking centuries of art debates.
Glossary
contrapposto (noun)
An asymmetrical posture in which a sculpted or painted human figure shifts their weight onto one leg. Donatello used this classical stance for his groundbreaking bronze sculpture of David in fifteenth-century Florence.
An asymmetrical posture in which a sculpted or painted human figure shifts their weight onto one leg. Donatello used this classical stance for his groundbreaking bronze sculpture of David in fifteenth-century Florence.
Quiz
How did Donatello learn the metalworking skills necessary to cast large bronze statues like David?
Quiz
What object is the biblical hero David standing on in Donatello's famous bronze sculpture?
Quiz
Which wealthy Florentine family commissioned and protected Donatello's controversial bronze David?
Quiz
What is the biblical hero David wearing in Donatello's bronze sculpture besides a hat?