in the baptistery competition reliefs (FIGS. 21-2and 21-3) are mod-
eled forms seen against a blank background. In Saint George and the
Dragon,Donatello took a painterly approach to representation, cre-
ating an atmospheric effect by using incised lines. It is impossible to
talk about a background plane in this work. The landscape recedes
into distant space. The depth of that space cannot be measured. The
relief is a window onto an infinite vista.
FEAST OF HERODDonatello’s mastery of relief sculpture is also
evident in Feast of Herod (FIG. 21-8), a bronze relief on the baptismal
font in Siena Cathedral. Some of the figures, especially the dancing Sa-
lome (to the right), derive from classical reliefs, but nothing in Greco-
Roman art can match the illusionism of
Donatello’s rendition of this New Testa-
ment scene. In Donatello’s relief, Salome
has already delivered the severed head of
John the Baptist, which the kneeling exe-
cutioner offers to King Herod. The other
figures recoil in horror in two groups. At
the right, one man covers his face with his21-6Donatello,Saint
George,Or San Michele,
Florence, Italy, ca. 1410–1415.
Marble, 6 10 high. Museo
Nazionale del Bargello,
Florence.
Donatello’s statue for the
armorers’ guild once had a
bronze sword and helmet. The
warrior saint stands defiantly,
ready to spring from his niche
to defend Florence, his sword
pointed at the spectator.21-7Donatello,Saint George and the
Dragon,relief below the statue of Saint
George (FIG. 21-6), Or San Michele, Florence,
Italy, ca. 1417. Marble, 1 3 –^14 3 111 – 4 .
Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence.
Donatello’s relief marked a turning point in
Renaissance sculpture. He took a painterly
approach, creating an atmospheric effect
by using incised lines. The depth of the
background cannot be measured.546 Chapter 21 ITALY,1400 TO 150021-8Donatello,Feast of Herod,panel on the baptismal font of Siena
Cathedral, Siena, Italy, 1423–1427. Gilded bronze, 1 111 – 2 1 11 –^12 .
Donatello’s Feast of Herod marked the advent of rationalized perspec-
tive space in Renaissance relief sculpture. Two arched courtyards of
diminishing size open the space of the action well into the distance.SAINT GEORGE For the
Or San Michele niche of the
armorers’ and swordmakers’
guild, Donatello made a statue
ofSaint George(FIG. 21-6).
The saintly knight stands
proudly with his shield in
front of him. He once held a
bronze sword in his right
hand and wore a bronze hel-
met on his head, both fash-
ioned by the sponsoring guild.
The statue continues the
Gothic tradition of depicting
warrior saints on church fa-
cades, as seen in the statue of
Saint Theodore (FIG. 18-18)
on the south-transept portal
of Chartres Cathedral, but here it has a civic role to play. Saint George
stands in a defiant manner—ready to spring out of his niche to defend
Florence against attack from another Visconti or Ladislaus, his sword
jutting out threateningly at all passersby. The saint’s body is taut, and
Donatello has given him a face filled with nervous energy.
Directly below the statue’s base is Donatello’s marble relief rep-
resenting Saint George and the Dragon(FIG. 21-7). Commissioned
about two years after he installed the statue in its niche, the relief
marks a turning point in Renaissance sculpture. Even the landscapes1 ft.1 ft.1 in.