What is Donatello?
[[File:Florence - David by Donatello.jpg|thumb|right|''David'' by Donatello]] [[File:Niccolo da Uzzano by Donatello - cast.jpg|thumb|right|Bust of [[Niccolò da Uzzano]], a politician]] '''Donatello''' (born '''Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi''', c. 1386 – 13 December 1466) was an [[Italy|Italian]] [[sculptor]] during the [[Renaissance]]. He lived in [[Florence]]. He worked in stone, [[bronze]], wood, [[clay]], and [[wax]] <ref>stucco is a kind of plaster often used for sculpture on buildings</ref> with several assistants. His reputation as a great artist was stated by [[Giorgio Vasari|Vasari]],<ref>Vasari, Giorgio [1556] 1996. ''Lives of the painters, sculptors and architects'', Volumes I and II. Everyman's Library. {{ISBN|0-679-45101-3}}</ref> and has always stood well. He worked in [[Rome]], [[Sienna]] and [[Padua]] as well as Florence, and worked for the Church, for [[Cosimo de' Medici]], and for various city authorities. He was born in Florence. He was the son of Niccolo di Betto Bardi. His mother's name is not known. When Donatello was older, he studied with [[Filippo Brunelleschi]] the [[architect]]. He also helped the sculptor [[Lorenzo Ghiberti]] to make statues for the [[Battistero di San Giovanni]]. Donatello's work was inspired by ancient sculpture. He was the first sculptor of his time to celebrate the human body, an idea that had died out after [[Ancient Greece|Greek]] and [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] times. His life-size statue of [[David]] is his best-known work.<ref>Schneider, Laurie 1973. Donatello's bronze David. ''The Art Bulletin'', '''55''', 213–216.</ref> The David is the first known free-standing nude statue made since antiquity. Much of his work was done for display in grand churches. Between 1415 and 1426, he made five statues for the [[Florence Cathedral]], also known as the Duomo. Donatello was a realist: an artist whose sculpture showed the subjects as real people. Naturalism and the showing of human feelings are his influences.<ref>Janson H.W. 1957 ''The sculpture of Donatello''. Princ