Donatello’s St. George

Donatello carved his statue of St. George for the guild of armorers and swordmakers in Florence.  Like the statue of St. Mark, the statue of St. George was destined for the guild’s niche in the building of Orsanmichele.  Because the guild was of average size, it could only afford a …

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Orsanmichele

The Florentine building known as Orsanmichele was one of the most important places for sculpture in the early Renaissance years.  Built in 1337, it was used to store grain and was owned by the city.  Its name was derived from an oratory dedicated to St. Michael that had previously occupied …

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Donatello’s Saint Mark

  The statue of St. Mark was commissioned by the linen guild, one of the poorer guilds in Florence whose patron was St. Mark.  They decided to hire the sculptor Donatello for the commission, who created a larger than life-size work (it is 7’9” tall).  The work itself was placed …

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