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(1386-1466) was a master of sculpture in bronze and marble and was one of the greatest Italian Renaissance artists of his time. A lot is known about his life and career but little is known about his character and personality. He never married and seems to be a ma ....

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.... 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 The "David" was originally made for the cathedral but was moved in 1416 to the Palazzo Vecchio which is a city hall where it long stood as a civic-patriotic symbol. From the sixteenth century on it was eclipsed by the gigantic "David" of Michelangelo which served the same purpose. Other 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 ma ....