Dodoens, Rembert (1517–1585) Flemish physician and
botanist
His Crūÿdeboeck (1554) owes much to Leonhart FUCHS’s
herbal, including its illustrations. CLUSIUS translated it
into French (1557), a version used by Henry Lyte for his
Niewe Herball (1578). Lyte’s translation and Dodoens’s last
book, Stirpium historiae pemptades sex (1583), were
among John GERARD’s sources for his Herball.
See also: HERBALS
doge The head of state or chief magistrate in the republic
of Genoa (1339–1797) and Venice (697–1805). Influen-
tial in medieval times, the Venetian office of doge became
increasingly ceremonial with real power residing in the
MAGGIOR CONSIGLIO. While the dogate in Venice played an
important role in the city’s admired constitutional stabil-
ity, the Genoese doges tended to have short and tumul-
tuous terms of office until the 16th century when Andrea
DORIAreformed the system with biennial elections to the
position. The dogate in both cities was abolished by
Napoleon.
dolce stil nuovo The “sweet new style” of lyric verse be-
tween about 1250 and 1300. The term was coined by
DANTE(Purgatorio XXIV 57), who lists Guido Guinizelli
(c. 1240–76), CAVALCANTI, and himself among the practi-
tioners (De vulgari eloquentia). Later critics have added
other names. It greatly influenced PETRARCHand through
him many later poets. Characterized by musicality, the
spiritualization of courtly love conventions, and a mysti-
cal and philosophical strain in the close analysis of love,
the style was adopted in sonnets, canzoni, and ballads, the
culminating examples being the poems inspired by Beat-
rice and gathered by Dante in his Vita nuova.
Dolet, Étienne (1509–1546) French humanist and printer
Born at Orléans, Dolet was forced to abandon his law
studies at Toulouse on account of his outspoken involve-
ment in several controversial issues. He moved to Lyons,
where he produced his two major works: Dialogus de imi-
tatione ciceroniana (1535), in which he defended his fel-
low Ciceronians (see CICERO) against the attacks of
ERASMUS, and Commentarii linguae latinae (1536–38), a
significant contribution to Latin scholarship. In 1538 he
set up as a printer, publishing the works of his friends
MAROTand RABELAISand his own translations of classical
literature and the Scriptures. He was the first to translate
Platonic dialogues into French. Dolet was imprisoned at
least four times: on the first occasion he had been accused
of killing a painter, apparently in self-defense, for which
he received a royal pardon; he subsequently faced three
charges of atheism, based on his publication of allegedly
heretical writings, notably a dialogue (attributed to Plato)
denying the immortality of the soul. He was burned at the
stake in the Place Maubert, Paris.
Domenico da Cortona (Le Boccador) (1470–1549)
Italian architect and woodcarver
Domenico executed most of his best-known works in
France, where he arrived in 1495 at the summons of
Charles VIII. Responsible for the furthering of many Ital-
ian ideas in France, Domenico probably designed the
wooden model for the Château de CHAMBORD, which was
begun in 1519. A development of the designs of Giuliano
da Sangallo, the model included such novel features as a
double central staircase and had a profound influence
upon subsequent architects in France. Other works in-
cluded the design of the Hôtel de Ville in Paris (1532).Domenico Veneziano (died 1461) Italian painter
Probably a native of Venice, Domenico was first recorded
in Perugia in 1438, when he wrote to the Medici family
asking for commissions; he settled in Florence in 1439.
Noted for his interest in the effects of light upon color,
Domenico was employed upon a fresco cycle in Sant’
Egidio in Florence (1439–45), now lost, on which he was
assisted by PIERO DELLA FRANCESCA. Only two signed
works by Domenico survive, the earlier being the Car-
nesecchi tabernacle (c. 1440; National Gallery, London),
which reveals the influence of Masaccio. His greatest work
was the altarpiece (c. 1445; Uffizi, Florence and else-
where) painted for the church of Sta. Lucia de’ Magnoli in
Florence, an early example of the SACRA CONVERSAZIONE,
showing the Madonna and Child with four saints. One of
the predellas from this altarpiece, an exceptionally beauti-
ful and hieratic Annunciation, is in the Fitzwilliam Mu-
seum, Cambridge, U.K. Other works sometimes attributed
to Domenico include several profile portraits, an Adora-
tion of the Magi (date unknown; Staatliche Museen
Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Berlin), and SS. John and Fran-
cis (Sta. Croce, Florence), which echoes the style of AN-
DREA DEL CASTAGNO.Dominis, Marc Antonio de See MARC ANTONIO DE DO-
MINISDonatello (Donato di Betto Bardi) (1386–1466) Italian
sculptor
A Florentine by birth, Donatello was the greatest sculptor
of the early Renaissance and one of its key figures, along-
side GHIBERTI, MASACCIO, BRUNELLESCHI, and ALBERTI. He
was one of the pioneers of linear PERSPECTIVE. Deeply con-
cerned with the revival of Greco-Roman culture and real-
ism in art, he nonetheless remained sincerely Christian.
First documented as an assistant to Ghiberti on the
models for the reliefs on the north doors of the baptistery
(1404–07) in Florence, Donatello became a rival, allying
himself with Brunelleschi. For public corporations such as
the board of works of the cathedral and the guilds of Flo-
rence, he carved a succession of over-life-size statues in
marble that indicate his rapid progress away from his114444 DDooddooeennss,, RReemmbbeerrtt