Statua gattamelata biography

Sculpture by Donatello in Padua, Italy

The Equestrian Statue of Gattamelata is an Italian Renaissance sculpture by Donatello, dating from 1453, today in the Piazza del Santo in Padua, Italy. It portrays the condottiereErasmo da Narni, known as "Gattamelata", who served mostly under the Republic of Venice, which ruled Padua at the time. It is the first full-size equestrian statue of the Italian Renaissance.

Description

After Erasmo of Narni's death in 1443, according to John Julius Norwich, the Republic of Venice, as a sign of gratitude and respect, paid for a sculpture in his honor. (This payment has been disputed. See below.) Measuring 340 x 390 cm (the base measuring 780 x 410 cm), it is the earliest surviving Renaissance equestrian statue and the first to reintroduce the grandeur of Classical equestrian portraiture. After its conception, the statue served as a precedent for later sculptures honoring military heroes for their continued effort in the wars.

The statue, as were all bronze statues of this time, was made using the lost wax method. The statue sits on a pedestal, and both the condottiero and his horse are portrayed in life size. Instead of portraying the soldier as larger-than-life, as in the classical Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius in Rome, where a sort of hierarchy of size demonstrates the subject's power, Donatello used emotion, position, and symbolism to convey the same message. Thus, Donatello makes a statement of the power of the real-life individual; he does not need to embellish or make grander whom Gattamelata was – the simple depiction of the real man is enough to convey his power.

The pedestal under the horse is composed of two reliefs toward the top with fake doors underneath. The doo

The oldest surviving bronze equestrian statue since antiquity is the statue in Padua of the condotierre Erasmo of Narni (1370-1443), better known with his nickname ‘Gattamelatta’ (the honeyed cat). His hair was blonde like honey and he was sly as a cat. Donatello sculpted this statue and finalized it in 1453. The statue was highly controversial at the time of its creation as it was an equestrian monument glorifying a man who was not a ruler. Gattamelata is the first Renaissance equestrian statue reintroducing, after more than a millennium, the grandeur of classical equestrian portraiture. It reflects the artistic trends of the Renaissance: naturalism and the careful depiction of forms.

Undoubtedly the Marcus Aurelius statue inspired Donatello. Instead of po

The Equestrian statue of Gattamelata is an early piece that made its way in during the Italian Renaissance. The statute depicts Erasmo de Narni, who served under the Republic of Venice. His death in 1443 sparked his family to request for a sculpture to be made in his honor, and it was the first renaissance equestrian statute that was displayed at the time.

History

After the Equestrian statue of Gattamelata was introduced to the art world, it served as a cornerstone for future equestrian pieces and sculptures that were made in that time period, as well as future forms of art. The piece was made using the lost wax method, sitting on a pedestal, and portrays a life size replica of the horse, and of the man. Donatello used emotion rather than trying to create a larger than life figure to portray the hero.

The Piece

The horse sits on top of two fake doors, which are intended to symbolize the gates of the underworld below. There are two reliefs including the coat, as well as the angels that depict battle armor. Donatello chose to display the image as a serious figure, who was composed and alert about the situations around him. Individualism and humanism were two forms of art that came about during this period of time, and it is one that Donatello used in his depiction of the hero with the statute he made for the family.

Not only was it a unique and intriguing piece, it is also the first that was created in a long line of future equestrian pieces to follow. Working as a cornerstone, Donatello chose to create a cool and collected character, and one who know the battlefield, as well as a larger than life depiction in the Equestrian statue of Gattamelata statute.

Italian condottiero

This article is about the condottiero. For Donatello's equestrian statue, see Gattamelata (Donatello).

Erasmo Stefano of Narni (1370 – 16 January 1443), better known by his nickname of Gattamelata (meaning "Honeyed Cat"), was an Italian condottiero of the Renaissance. He was born in Narni, and served a number of Italian city-states: he began with Braccio da Montone, served the Papal States and Florence, as well as the Republic of Venice in 1434 in the battles with the Visconti of Milan.

He was the subject of Donatello's equestrian bronze sculpture in the main square of Padua, the same city over which he became podestà in 1437.

In Narni, the farmhouse in which Gattamelata was born bears a plaque reading "Narnia me genuit Gattamelata fui" ("I was born in Narni, I was Gattamelata").

Biography

Erasmo of Narni was born in Narni, in Umbria, into a poor family. His station in life led him to the military, initially under the Assisi lord Cecchino Broglia. Later, together with his friend Brandolino Brandolini, he served under Braccio da Montone, one of the leading Italian condottieri of the 15th century, lord of Perugia from 1416.

With Braccio, he participated in the conquest of Todi, Rieti, Narni, Terni and Spoleto, and, in 1419, in the battle of Viterbo against Muzio Attendolo. At the War of L'Aquila (June 1424), Braccio's army was utterly defeated, and the condottiero himself killed; Erasmo led the remaining troops into the service of the Republic of Florence. In 1427 Pope Martin V hired him to regain the lands captured by Braccio da Montone.Città di Castello fell in 1428, but Erasmo had moved to the northern Papal States to counter the rebellion of Imola, Forlì and Bologna. He entered the latter in 1431 as the General Captain of the Papal States, and he also suppressed Antonio Ordelaffi's rebellion in Forlì.

Mostly because of his