Donatello - Vasari's Lives of the most excellent Painters, Sculptors and Architects

Lives of the Most Eminent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects by Giorgio Vasari Wife of Donato, Donatello, Sculptor of Florence. Donato, who was called Donatello by his relatives, and wrote his name thus on some of his works, was born in Florence in the year 1403, devoting himself to the arts of design. He was not only a very rare sculptor and a marvellous statuary, but also a practiced worker in Stucco, an able master of perspective and greatly esteemed as an architect, and his works showed so great grace, design, and excellence that they were held to approach more nearly to the marvellous works of the ancient Greeks and Romans Wherefore, it is with good reason that he is ranked as the first who made a good use of the invention of scenes in low relief, which he wrought so well that it is recognized from the thought, the facility, and the mastery that he showed therein, that he had a true understanding of them, making them with a beauty far beyond the ordinary. For not only did no craftsman in this period ever surpass him, but no one even in our own age has equaled him. Donatello was brought up from his early childhood in the house of Roberto Martelli, where, by his good qualities and by his zealous talent, he won the affection not only of Martelli himself, but of all that noble family. As a youth, he wrought many things, which were not held in great account, by reason of their number. But what made him known for what he was, and gave him a name, was an Annunciation in Greystone, which was placed close to the altar of the chapel of the Cavalcanti, in the church of San Croce, in Florence. For this, he made an ornament, composed in the grotesque manner, with a base of varied intertwined work, and a decoration of quadruntal shape, adding six boys bearing certain festoons, who appeared to be holding one another securely with their arms, in their fear of the height. But the greatest genius and art that he showed was in the figure of the Virgin, who, alarmed by the unexpected apparition of the Angel, is making a most becoming reverence, with a sweet and timid movement of her person, turning with most beautiful grace towards him who is saluting her, in a manner that there are seen in her countenance that humility and gratitude which are due to one who presents an unexpected gift, and the more when the gift is a great one. Besides this, Donato showed a masterly flow of curves and folds in the draperies of that Madonna and of the Angel, demonstrating with the suggestion of the nude forms below, how he was seeking to recover the beauty of the ancients, which had lain hidden for so many years. And he displayed so great facility and art in this work, that nothing more could be desired, in fact, with regard to design, judgment, and mastery in handling the chisel. In the same church, below the trameto, and beside a scene painted by Tadeo Gardi, he made a crucifix of wood with extraordinary care. And when he had finished this, thinking that he had made a very rare work, he showed it to Filippo di Cerbrunellesco, who was very much his friend, wishing to have his opinion. Filippo, whom the words of Donato had led to expect something much better, smiled slightly on seeing it. Donato, perceiving this, besought him by all the friendship between them to tell him his opinion, whereupon Filippo, who was most obliging, replied that it appeared to him that Donato had placed a ploughman on the cross, and not a body like that of Jesus Christ, which was most delicate and, in all its parts, the most perfect human form that was ever born. Donato, hearing himself censured, and that more sharply than he expected, whereas he was hoping to be praised, replied, If it were as easy to make this figure as to judge it, my Christ would appear to thee to be Christ and not a ploughman. Take wood, therefore, and try to make one thyself. Filippo, without another word, returned home and set to work to make a crucifix, without letting anyone know. And seeking to surpass Donato, in order not to confound his own judgment, after many months he brought it to the height of perfection. This done, he invited Donato one morning to dine with him, and Donato accepted the invitation. Whereupon, as they were going together to the house of Filippo, they came to the Mercato Vecchio, where Filippo bought some things and gave them to Donato, saying, Do thou go with these things to the house and wait for me there? I am coming in a moment. Donato, therefore, entering the house and going into the hall, saw the crucifix of Filippo placed in a good light, and stopping short to study it, he found it so perfectly finished, that being overcome and full of amazement, like one distraught, he spread out his hands, which were holding up his apron, whereupon the eggs, the cheese, and all the other things fell to the ground, and everything was broken to pieces. But he was still marveling and standing like one possessed when Filippo came up and said with a laugh, What is thy intention, Donato? And what are we to have for dinner, now that thou hast upset everything? For my part, answered Donato, I have had my share for this morning. If thou must have thine, take it. It is thy work to make Christ, and mine to make ploughmen. In the church of San Giovanni, in the same city, Donato made a tomb for Pope Giovanni Coscia, who had been deposed from the pontificate by the Council of Constance. This tomb he was commissioned to make by Cosimo de' Medici, who was very much the friend of the sad Coscia. He wrought therein, with his own hand, the figure of the dead man in gilded bronze, together with the marble statues of hope and charity that are there. And his pupil, Michelozzo, made the figure of faith. In the same church, opposite to this work, there is a wooden figure, by the hand of Donato, of St. Mary Magdalene, in penitence, very beautiful and excellently wrought, showing her wasted away by her fastings and abstinence, insomuch that it displays in all its parts an admirable perfection of anatomical knowledge. On a column of granite, in the Mercato Vecchio, there is a figure of abundance, in hard greystone, by the hand of Donato, standing quite by itself, so well wrought that it is consummately praised by craftsmen and by all good judges of art. The column on which this statue is placed was formerly in San Giovanni, where there are the others of granite supporting the gallery within. It was removed and its place was taken by a fluted column, on which, in the middle of that temple, there once stood the statue of Mars, which was taken away when the Florentines were converted to the faith of Jesus Christ. The same man, while still a youth, made a figure of the prophet Daniel, in marble, for the façade of Santa Maria del Fiore, and afterwards one of St. John the Evangelist, seated, four braccia high, and clothed in a simple garment, which figure is much extolled. On one corner of the same place, on the side that faces towards the Via del Cocomero, there is an old man between two columns, more akin to the ancient manor than any other work that there is to be seen by the hand of Donato, the head revealing the thoughts that length of years brings to those who are exhausted by time and labor. Within the said church, likewise, he made the ornament for the organ, which stands over the door of the old sacristy, with those figures so boldly sketched, as it has been said, that they appear to the eye to have actual life and movement. Wherefore it may be said of this man that he worked as much with his judgment as with his hands, seeing that many things are wrought which appear beautiful in the rooms where they are made, and afterwards, on being taken thence and set in another place, in a different light, or at a greater height, present a different appearance, and turn out the contrary to what they appeared. Whereas Donato made his figures in such a manner that in the room where he was working they did not appear half as good as they turned out to be in the positions where they were placed. For the new sacristy of the same church, he made the design for those boys who uphold the festoons that go round the frieze, and likewise the design for the figures that were wrought in the glass of the round window which is below the cupola, namely, that one which contains the coronation of Our Lady, which design is greatly superior to those of the other round windows, as it is clearly evident. For San Michele in Orto, in the sad city, he wrought the marble statue of St. Peter, which is to be seen there, a most masterly and admirable figure for the guild of butchers. And for the guild of linen manufacturers, he wrought the figure of St. Mark the Evangelist, which, after being commissioned to make it in company with Filippo Brunelleschi, he finished by himself with the consent of Filippo. This figure was wrought by Donato with so great judgment that its excellence was not recognized while it stood on the ground by those who had no judgment, and the councils of that guild were inclined to refuse to have it put into place, whereupon Donato besought them to let him set it on high, saying that he wished to work on it and to show them a different figure as the result. His request being granted, he covered it up for a fortnight, and then uncovered it without having otherwise touched it, filling everyone with wonder. For the guild of armorers, he made a most spirited figure of St. Georgian armor, in the head of which there may be seen the beauty of youth, courage, and valor in arms, in a proud and terrible order. And there is a marvelous suggestion of life bursting out of the stone. It is certain that no modern figure in marble has yet shown such vivacity and such spirit as nature and art produced in this one by means of the hand of Donato. In the base that supports the shrine enclosing that figure, he wrought in marble the story of the saint killing the dragon in low relief, wherein there is a horse that is much esteemed and greatly extolled. In the frontal, he made a half-length figure of God the Father in low relief, Opposite to the church of the said oratory, he wrought the marble shrine for the Mercatantia, following the ancient order known as Corinthian, and departing entirely from the German manner. This shrine was meant to contain two statues, but he refused to make them because he could not come to an agreement about the price. After his death, these figures were made in bronze by Andrea del Verrocchio, as it will be told. For the main front of the Campanile of Santa Maria del Fiore, he wrought four figures in marble, five braccia in height, of which the two in the middle are portrayed from life, one being Francesco Soderini as a youth and the other Giovanni di Barduccio Chirichini, now called Il Zuccone. The latter was held to be a very rare work, and the most beautiful that Donato ever made, and when he wished to take an oath that would command belief, he was wont to say, And the while that he was working on it, he would keep gazing at it and saying, Over the door of the Campanile, on the side facing the Canon's house, he made Abraham, about to sacrifice Isaac, with another prophet, and these figures were placed between two other statues. For the Signoria of that city, he made a casting in metal, which was placed under an arch of their loggia in the Piazza, representing Judith cutting off the head of Holofernes, a work of great excellence and mastery, which, if one considers the simplicity of the garments and aspect of Judith on the surface, reveals very clearly below the surface the great spirit of that woman and the assistance given to her by God, even as one sees the effect of wine and sleep in the expression of Holofernes, and death in his limbs, which have lost all life and are shown cold and limp. This work was so well executed by Donato that the casting came out delicate and very beautiful, and it was afterwards finished so excellently that it is a very great marvel to behold. The base, likewise, which is a baluster of granite, simple in design, appears full of grace and presents an aspect pleasing to the eye. He was so well satisfied with this work that he deigned to place his name on it, which he had not done on the others, and it is seen in these words. Donatelli Opus In the courtyard of the Palace of the Sad Signori there is a life-size David, nude and in bronze. Having cut off the head of Goliath, he is raising one foot and placing it on him, holding a sword in his right hand. This figure is so natural in its vivacity and its softness that it is almost impossible for craftsmen to believe that it was not molded on the living form. This statue once stood in the courtyard of the House of the Medici, but it was transported to the sad place on the exile of Cosimo. In our own day, Duke Cosimo, having made a fountain on the spot occupied by this statue, had it removed, and it is being kept for a very large courtyard that he intends to make at the back of the palace, that is, where the lions formerly stood. In the hall where there is the clock of Lorenzo della Volpaia, on the left, there is a very beautiful David in marble. Between his legs, under his feet, he has the head of the dead Goliath, and in his hand he holds the sling wherewith he slew him. In the first courtyard of the House of the Medici there are eight medallions of marble, wherein there are copies of ancient cameos and of the reverse side of medals with certain scenes, all made by him and very beautiful, which are built into the frieze between the windows and the architrave above the arches of the loggia. In like manner, he restored an ancient statue of Marsyas in white marble, which was placed at the entrance of the garden, and a great number of ancient heads, which were placed over the doors, were restored and embellished by him with wings and diamonds, the emblem of Cosimo, wrought very well in stucco. He made a very lovely vessel of granite, which poured forth water, and he wrought a similar one, which also pours forth water for the garden of the Pazzi in Florence. In the sad palace of the Medici there are madonnas of marble and bronze made in low relief, besides some scenes in marble, with most beautiful figures, marvelous in their flat relief. So great was the love that Cosimo bore to the talent of Donato, that he kept him continually at work, and Donato, on the other hand, bore so great love to Cosimo that he could divine his patrons every wish from the slightest sign, and obeyed him in all things. It is said that a Genoese merchant caused Donato to make a life-size head of bronze, which was very beautiful and also very light, because it had to be carried to a great distance, and that the commission for this work came to him through the recommendation of Cosimo. Now, when the head was finished and the merchant came to pay for it, it appeared to him that Donato was asking too much. Wherefore the matter was referred to Cosimo, who had the head carried to the upper court of the palace, and placed between the battlements that overlooked the street, to the end that it might be seen better. When Cosimo sought to settle the difference, he found the offer of the merchant very far from the demand of Donato, and he turned around and said that it was too little. Whereupon the merchant, thinking it too much, said that Donato had brought it in a month or little more, and that this meant a gain of more than half a flooring a day. Donato, thinking this too much of an insult, turned round in anger, and said to the merchant that in the hundredth part of an hour he would have been able to spoil the value of a year's labor. And giving the head a push, he sent it flying straightway into the street below, where it broke into a thousand pieces, saying to him that this showed that he was more used to bargaining for beans than for statues. Wherefore the merchant, regretting his meanness, offered to give him double the sum if he would make another, but neither his promises nor the entreaties of Cosimo could induce Donato to make it again. In the houses of the Martelli there are many scenes in marble and in bronze, among others a David, three braccia high, with many other works presented by him as a free gift to that family, in proof of the devotion and love that he bore them. Above all, a St. John of Marble, made by him in the round, and three braccia high, a very rare work, which is today in the house of the heirs of Roberto Martelli. With regard to this work, a legal agreement was made to the effect that it should be neither pledged nor sold nor given away without heavy penalties, as a testimony and token of the affection shown by them to Donato, and by him to them, out of gratitude that he had learned his art through the protection and the opportunities that he received from them. He also made a tomb of marble for an archbishop, which was sent to Naples and is in San Angelo di Sedgio di Nido. In this tomb, there are three figures in the round that support the sarcophagus with their heads, and on the sarcophagus itself is a scene in low relief, so beautiful that it commands infinite praise. In the house of the Count of Matalone, in the same city, there is the head of a horse by the hand of Donato, so beautiful that many take it for an antique. In the township of Prato, he wrought the marble pulpit where the girdle is shown, in which, in several compartments, he carved a dance of children, so beautiful and so admirable that he may be said to have demonstrated the perfection of his art no less in this work than in his others. To support this pulpit, moreover, he made two capitals of bronze, one of which is still there, while the other was carried away by the Spaniard who sacked that district. It came to pass about this time that the Signoria of Venice, hearing of his fame, sent for him to the end that he might make the monument of Gattamelata in the city of Padua. Wherefore, he went there right willingly, and made the bronze horse that is on the Piazza di Sant'Antonio, wherein are perceived the panting and neighing of the horse with great spirit and pride, most vividly expressed by his art in the figure of the rider. And Donato proved himself such a master in the proportions and excellence of so great a casting that he can truly bear comparison with any ancient craftsman in movement, design, art, proportion, and diligence. Wherefore, it not only astonished all who saw it then, but continues to astonish every person who sees it at the present day. The Paduans, moved by this, did their utmost to make him their fellow citizen, and sought to detain him with every sort of endearment. In order to keep him in their midst, they commissioned him to make the stories of St. Anthony of Padua on the predella of the high altar in the church of the Friars Minor, which are, in low relief, wrought with so great judgment that the most excellent masters of that art stand marveling and amazed before them as they consider their beautiful and varied compositions, with a great abundance of extraordinary figures and diminishing perspectives. Very beautiful, likewise, are the marys that he made on the altar docile, lamenting the dead Christ. In the house of one of the counts, Capodilista, he wrought the skeleton of a horse in wood, which is still to be seen today without the neck, wherein the various parts are joined together with so much method that, if one considers the manner of this work, one can judge of the ingenuity of his brain and the greatness of his mind. In a convent of nuns, he made a St. Sebastian in wood at the request of a chaplain, a Florentine, who was their friend and an intimate of his own. This man brought him a figure of that saint that they had, old and clumsy, beseeching him to make the new one like it. Wherefore, Donato strove to imitate it, in order to please the chaplain and the nuns. But, although he imitated it, clumsy as it was, he could not help showing, in his own, the usual excellence of his art. Together with this figure, he made many others in clay and in stucco, and on one end of an old piece of marble that the said nuns had in their garden, he carved a very beautiful Madonna. Throughout that whole city, likewise, there are innumerable works by his hand, by reason of which he was held by the Paduans to be a marvel, and was praised by every man of understanding. But he determined to return to Florence, saying that if he remained any longer in Padua, he would forget everything that he knew, being so greatly praised there by all, and that he was glad to return to his own country, where he would gain nothing but censure, since such censure would urge him to study, and would enable him to attain to greater glory. Having departed from Padua, therefore, he returned by way of Venice, where, as a mark of his friendliness towards the Florentine people, he made them a present of a St. John the Baptist, brought by him in wood, with very great diligence and study, for their chapel in the church of the Friars Minor. In the city of Faenza, he carved a St. John and a St. Jerome in wood, which are no less esteemed than his other works. Afterwards, having returned to Tuscany, he made a marble tomb, with a very beautiful scene in the Pieve of Montepulciano, and a lavatory of marble, on which Andrea Verrocchio also worked in the sacristy of San Lorenzo in Florence. And, in the house of Lorenzo della Stufa, he wrought some heads and figures that are very spirited and vivacious. Then, departing from Florence, he betook himself to Rome, in order to try to imitate the antiques to the best of his ability. And, during this time, while studying these, he made a tabernacle of the sacrament in stone, which is to be seen in San Pietro at the present day. Passing through Siena on his way back to Florence, he undertook to make a door of bronze for the baptistery of San Giovanni. And he had already made the wooden model, and the wax molds were almost finished and successfully covered with the outer mold, ready for the casting. When there arrived, on his way back from Rome, one Bernadetto di Monapapera, a Florentine goldsmith, and an intimate friend of Donato, who wrought upon him so strongly, both with words and in other ways, either for some business of his own or for some other reason, that he brought him back to Florence, wherefore that work remained unfinished, nay, not begun. There only remained, in the office of works of the Duomo in that city, a Saint John the Baptist in bronze by his hand, with the right arm missing from the elbow downwards, and this Donato is said to have done because he had not been paid in full. Having returned to Florence, therefore, he wrought the Sacristy of San Lorenzo in Stucco for Cosimo de' Medici, making four medallions on the pendentives of the vault containing stories of the evangelists, with grounds in perspective, partly painted, and partly in low relief. And, in the set place, he made two very beautiful little doors of bronze in low relief, with the apostles, martyrs, and confessors. And above these, he made some flat niches, one containing a St. Lawrence and a St. Stephen, and the other, San Cosimo and San Damiano. In the transept of the church, he executed four saints in Stucco, each five braccia high, which are wrought in a masterly manner. He also designed the bronze pulpits that contained the Passion of Christ, a work displaying design, force, invention, and an abundance of figures and buildings. But these, his old age prevented him from executing, and his pupil, Bertoldo, finished them and brought them to the utmost perfection. For Santa Maria del Fiore, he made two colossal figures of brick and stucco, which are placed, by way of ornament, without the church, at the corners of the chapels. Over the door of San Croce, there is still to be seen a St. Louis, wrought by him in bronze, five braccia high. For this, someone criticized him, saying that it was stupid and perhaps the least excellent work that he had ever made. And he answered that he had made it so of sad purpose, seeing that the saint had been stupid to give up his throne and become a monk. The same man made the head of the wife of the said Cosimo de Medici in bronze, and this head is preserved in the guardaroba of the Lord Duke Cosimo, wherein there are many other works in bronze and marble by the hand of Donato. Among others, a Madonna with a child in her arms, sunk in the marble, in flat relief, which is the most beautiful work that it is possible to see, and the rather as it is surrounded by a border of scenes done in miniature by Fra Bartolomeo, which are admirable, as it will be told in the proper place. The said Lord Duke has a very beautiful, nay, miraculous crucifix in bronze, by the hand of Donato, in his study, wherein there are innumerable rare antiques and most beautiful medals. In the same manner, in the House of the Heirs of Giacomo Caponi, who was an excellent citizen and a true gentleman, there is a marble panel with a Madonna in half relief, which is held to be a very rare work. Messer Antonio de' Nobili, who was treasurer to his Excellency, had in his house a marble panel by the hand of Donato, in which there is a half-length Madonna in low relief, so beautiful that the said Messer Antonio valued it as much as all his possessions. Nor is it less valued by his son Giulio, a youth of singular goodness and judgment, a friend to lovers of art and to all men of excellence. In the house of Giovan Battista d'Agnol Doni, a gentleman of Florence, there is a mercury of metal in the round by the hand of Donato, one braccio and a half in height and clothed in a certain bizarre manner, which work is truly very beautiful and no less rare than the others that adorn his most beautiful house. Bartolomeo Gondi, of whom we have spoken in the life of Giotto, has a Madonna in half relief by the hand of Donato, wrought with so great love and diligence that it is not possible to see anything better, or to imagine the fancifulness which he gave to her headdress and the loveliness that he put into the garments which he is wearing. In like manner, Mestre Lelio Torelli, first auditor and secretary to our Lord the Duke, and no less devoted a lover of all the honorable sciences, arts, and professions than he is excellent as a jurist, has a marble panel of Our Lady by the hand of the same Donatello. But if one were to give a complete account of his life and of the works that he made, it would be a far longer story than it is our intention to give in writing the lives of our craftsmen, seeing that he put his hand not only to great things, of which there has been enough said, but also to the smallest things of art, making the arms of families on the chimney pieces and on the fronts of the houses of citizens, the most beautiful example of which may be seen in the house of the baker Somai, which is opposite to that of the baker della Vacca. For the family of the Martelli, moreover, he made a coffin in the form of a cradle wrought of wickerwork, to serve for a tomb. But it is beneath the church of San Lorenzo, because no tombs of any kind are to be seen above, save only the epitaph of the tomb of Cosimo de' Medici, and even that one has its entrance below, like the others. It is said that Simone, the brother of Donato, having wrought the model for the tomb of Pope Martin V, sent for Donato to the city of San to receive the crown from Pope Eugenius IV. Therefore, he was forced, in company with Simone, to occupy himself with making the magnificent preparations for that festival, whereby he acquired very great fame and honor. In the guardaroba of Signor Gibaldo, Duke of Urbino, there is a very beautiful head of marble by the hand of the same man, and it is believed that it was given to the ancestors of the said Duke by the magnificent Giuliano de' Medici, at the time when he was staying at that court, which was full of most cultured gentlemen. In short, the talent of Donato was such, and he was so admirable in all his actions, that he may be said to have been one of the first to give light by his practice, judgment, and knowledge to the art of sculpture and of good design among the moderns. And he deserves all the more commendation, because in his day, apart from the columns, sarcophagi, and triumphal arches, there were no antiquities revealed above the earth, and it was through him, chiefly, that there arose in Cosimo de' Medici the desire to introduce into Florence the antiquities that were and are in the house of de' Medici, all of which he restored with his own hand. He was most liberal, gracious, and courteous, and more careful for his friends than for himself. Nor did he give thought to money, but kept his in a basket, suspended by a cord from the ceiling, wherefore all his workmen and friends could take what they needed without saying a word to him. He passed his old age most joyously, and having become decrepit, he had to be secured by Cosimo and by others of his friends, being no longer able to work. It is said that Cosimo, being at the point of death, recommended him to the care of his son, Piero, who, as a most diligent executor of his father's wishes, gave him a farm at Caffa di Uolo, which produced enough to enable him to live in comfort. At this, Donato made great rejoicing, thinking that he was thus more than secure from the danger of dying of hunger. But he had not held it a year before he returned to Piero and gave it back to him by public contract, declaring that he refused to lose his peace of mind by having to think of household cares and listen to the importunity of the peasant, who kept pasturing him every third day, now because the wind had unroofed his dovecoat, now because his cattle had been seized by the commune for taxes, and now because a storm had robbed him of his wine and his fruit. He was so weary and disgusted with all this, that he would rather die of hunger than have to think of so many things. Piero left at the simplicity of Donato, and in order to deliver him from this torment, he accepted the farm, for on this Donato insisted, and assigned him an allowance of the same value, or more, from his own bank, to be paid in cash, which was handed over to him every week, in the due proportion owing to him, whereby he was greatly contented. Thus, as a servant and friend of the house of Medici, he lived happily and free from care for the rest of his life. When he had reached the age of eighty-three, however, he was so palsy that he could no longer work in any fashion, and took to spending all his time in bed, in a poor little house that he had in the Via del Cocomero, near the nunnery of San Nicolo, where, growing worse from day to day, and wasting away little by little, he died on December 13, 1466. He was buried in the church of San Lorento, near the tomb of Cosimo, as he had himself directed, to the end that his dead body might be near him, even as he had been ever near him in spirit when alive. His death caused great grief to his fellow citizens, to the craftsmen, and to all who knew him when living. Wherefore, in order to honor him more after death than they had done in his life, they gave him most honorable obsequies in the aforesaid church, and he was accompanied to the grave by all the painters, architects, sculptors, and goldsmiths, and by almost all the people of that city, which continued for a long time to compose in his honor various kinds of verses, in diverse tones, whereof it must suffice us to cite the few that are to be read below. But before I come to the epitaphs, it will not be amiss to relate the following story of him as well. When he had fallen sick, and only a little before his death, certain of his relatives went to visit him, and after they had greeted him, as is customary, and condoled with him, they said that it was his duty to leave them a farm that he had in the district of Prato, although it was small, and produced a very meager income. And they prayed him straightly to do it. Hearing this, Donato, who showed something of the good in all that he did, said to them, I cannot satisfy you, my kinsman, because I intend to leave it, as it appears to me reasonable, to the peasant, who has always worked it, and endured great labor thereby, and not to you, who, without having bestowed upon it anything more profitable than the thought of possessing it, expect me to leave it to you because of this your visit. Go, and may God bless you. Of a truth, such relatives, who have no love unconnected with advantage or with the hope of it, should be ever treated in this fashion. Sending, therefore, a notary, he left the said farm to the laborer, who had always worked it, and who, perchance, had behaved better to him in his need than those relatives had done. His art possessions he left to his pupils, namely Bertoldo, a sculptor of Florence, who imitated him closely enough, as may be seen from a beautiful battle between men on horseback, wrought in bronze, which is now in the guardaroba of the lord du Cosimo, Nanni d'Antonio di Banco, who died before him, and Rossellino Desiderio and Villano da Padova. In short, it may be said that every man who has sought to do good work in relief since the death of Donato has been his disciple. He was resolute in draughtsmanship, and he made his drawings with such mastery and boldness that they have no equals, as may be seen in my book, wherein I have figures drawn by his hand, both clothed and nude, animals that make all who see them marvel, and other most beautiful things of that kind. His portrait was made by Paolo Cello, as it has been said in his life. The epitaphs are as follows. Scultura huius monumenti a Florentini sfieri voluit Donatello ut pote homini qui ei quodiam diu optimis artificibus multisque seculis tum nobilitatis tum nominis acquisitum fuerat eniuriave tempor perdiderat ipsa ipse unus una vita infinitisque operibus cumulatis restituerit et patrie benemerenti huius restitute virtutis palmam reportarit excudit nemos spirantia mulius era vera cano cernes marmora viva loqui grecorum sileat prisca admirabilis etas compedibus statuas continuissir hodon nectere namque magis fuirant hec vincula digna istius egregias artificis statuas quanto condotta manno alla scultura già fecer molti or sol donato affatto renduto a vita amarmi affetto ed atto che più se non parlar può dar natura The world remained so full of his works that it may be affirmed right truly that no craftsman ever worked more than he did. For, delighting in every kind of work, he put his hand to anything without considering whether it was of little or of great value. Nevertheless, it was indispensable to sculpture this vast activity of donato in making figures in every kind of relief, full, half, low, and the lowest. Because, whereas in the good times of the ancient Greeks and Romans, it was by means of many that it became perfect, he alone, by the multitude of his works, brought it back to marvelous perfection in our own age. Wherefore, craftsmen should trace the greatness of this art rather to him than to any man born in modern times, seeing that, besides rendering the difficulties of the art easy, in the multitude of his works he combined together invention, design, practice, judgment, and every other quality that ever can or should be looked for in a divine genius. Donato was very resolute and ready, executing all his works with consummate facility, and he always accomplished much more than he had promised. He left all his work to be completed by his pupil Bertoldo, and particularly the bronze pulpits of San Lorenzo, which were afterwards finished, in great part, by him, and brought to the state in which they are seen in the sad church. I will not forbear to say that the most learned and very reverend Don Vincenzo Borghini, of whom mention has been made above, with regard to some other matter, has collected into a large book innumerable drawings by excellent painters and sculptors, both ancient and modern, and on the ornamental borders of two leaves opposite to each other, which contain drawings by the hand of Donato and of Michelangelo Buonarroti, he has written, with much judgment, these two Greek epigrams. On Donatos, Greek, E. Donatos Buonarrotitsei and on Michelangelos, Greek, E. Buonarrotus Donatitsei, which mean in Latin, aut Donatus Buonarrotum exprimit et refert aut Buonarrotus Donatum and in our own tongue, either the spirit of Donato works in Buonarroto or that of Buonarroto began by working in Donato.