Editing Donatello (section)

===Cathedral===
By early 1408 Donatello had acquired sufficient reputation to be given the commission for a life-size prophet for the cathedral, to be paired with another by [[Nanni di Banco]], a brilliant sculptor of Donatello's age, who seems to have been both a rival and friend.<ref>Seymour, 49-50; Coonin, 28-33.</ref> In the end they were not placed as intended, probably because they appeared too small from far below, and the Donatello appears to be lost.<ref>Seymour, 52; Coonin, 29-30.</ref>

From now on he received a series of commissions for full-size statues for prominent public locations.  These are now among his most famous works, but after about 1425 he produced few sculptures of this type.  His [[David (Donatello, bronze)|marble ''David'']] may date from around this time, or slightly later, perhaps 1412.<ref>Seymour, 67. The cathedral records payment in 1412, but this may be for a different figure, now lost or altered.</ref>  He was commissioned to rework it in 1416, the cathedral surrendering it to the [[Republic of Florence|republic]], who placed in the seat of government, the [[Palazzo Vecchio]].<ref>Coonin, 60-61; Hartt, 164-165.</ref>  It was "one of the early cases in monumental sculpture where he is portrayed as a youth", rather than the King of Israel, and "teeters between the Gothic and Renaissance worlds".<ref>Olson, 48.</ref> 

In 1409–1411 he executed the colossal seated figure of ''Saint John the Evangelist'', which occupied a niche of the old cathedral façade until 1588, and is now in the cathedral museum. This was placed with the base about 3 metres from the ground, and Donatello adjusts his composition with this in mind; since 2015 it and other cathedral sculptures have been displayed at their original heights.<ref>Seymour, 56-57.</ref> <!-- This work marks a decisive step forward from late [[Gothic art|Gothic style]] in the search for naturalism and the rendering of human feelings.<ref>Horst W. Janson, ''The Sculpture of Donatello'', Princeton, 1963, p.</ref>{{page needed|date=April 2023}} The face, the shoulders, and the bust are still idealized, while the hands and the fold of cloth over the legs are more realistic.  -->

In 1415 the cathedral authorities decided to revive and complete medieval projects, and add eight lifesize marble figures for the niches of the higher levels of [[Giotto's Campanile]] adjoining the cathedral, as well as complete a row on the cathedral facade (in which Donatello was not involved).  All the figures for the campanile series were removed in 1940, to be replaced by replicas with the originals moved to the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo. They were placed very high, and so were seen from a distance, at a sharp angle, factors which needed allowing for in the compositions, and made "fine detail virtually useless for visual effect";<ref>Seymour, 68–70, 69 quoted.</ref> Since 2015 the museum's new displays show this and other statues for the cathedral at the intended original heights.

Donatello was responsible for six of the eight campanile figures, in two cases working with the younger [[Nanni di Bartolo]] (''il Rosso''). The commissions and starts stretched between 1414 and 1423, and while most were completed by 1421, the last of his statues was not finished until 1435.<ref>Seymour, 68.</ref> This was the striking ''[[Zuccone]]'' ("Baldy", or "Pumpkin Head" probably intended as [[Habakkuk]] or [[Jeremiah]]), the best known of the series, and reportedly Donatello's favourite.<ref>Vasari, 101; Coonin, 120-123.</ref>

His other statues for the campanile are known as: the ''Beardless Prophet'' and ''Bearded Prophet'' (both from 1414 to 1420); the ''Sacrifice of Isaac'' (with Nanni di Batolo, 1421); ''il Populano'', a prophet not finally finished until 1435.<ref>Seymour, 68.</ref>

The visibility of statues high on the cathedral buildings was to remain a concern for the rest of the century; [[David (Michelangelo)|Michelangelo's ''David'']] was intended for such a place, but proved too heavy to raise and support. Donatello, with Brunelleschi, proposed a large but lightweight solution, and made a prophet [[Joshua]] with a brick core, then a modelled layer of clay or terracotta, all painted white.  This was put in place on the cathedral some time after 1415, and remained until the 18th century; it was known as the "White Colossus" or ''homo magnus et albus'' ("Large White Man").<ref>Coonin, 34-35; Seymour, 67-68.</ref>