First major UK exhibition to explore the work of the Renaissance master Donatello, arguably the greatest sculptor of all time.
Featuring many works that have never been on display in the UK, the exhibition will explore Donatello’s innovations, collaborations and inspirations within the vibrant artistic and cultural context of fifteenth-century Italy, and his influence on subsequent generations of artists.
The exhibition will showcase Donatello’s early marble David and bronze Attis-Amorino from the Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence, as well as the spectacular reliquary bust of San Rossore from the Museo Nazionale di San Matteo, Pisa, and bronzes from the High Altar of the Basilica of St Anthony in Padua.
For the first time, the V&A’s exquisitely carved shallow relief of the Ascension with Christ giving the keys to St Peter will be displayed alongside the Madonna of the Clouds from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and Desiderio da Settignano’s Panciatichi Madonna from the Museo Nazionale del Bargello, providing an exclusive opportunity to see these works together.
Through these and other exceptional loans, the exhibition will offer visitors a unique vision of Donatello’s genius and central role at this critical time in European culture.
Donatello: Sculpting the Renaissance 11 February – 11 June 2023.
Further Information: Donatello: Sculpting the Renaissance - Exhibition at South Kensington · V&A (vam.ac.uk)