Donatello and the Dawn of Renaissance Art, Hardcover

The Italian sculptor known as Donatello helped to forge a new kind of art--one that came to define the Renaissance. His work was progressive, challenging, and even controversial. Using a variety of novel sculptural techniques and innovative interpretations, Donatello uniquely depicted themes involving human sexuality, violence, spirituality, and beauty. But to really understand Donatello, one needs to understand his changing world, marked by the transition from Medieval to Renaissance style and to an art that was more personal and representative of the modern self. Donatello was not just a man of his times, he helped shape the spirit of the times he lived in and profoundly influenced those that came after.

In this beautifully illustrated book--the first thorough biography of Donatello in twenty-five years--A. Victor Coonin describes the full extent of Donatello's revolutionary contributions, revealing how his work heralded the emergence of modern art.

A. Victor Coonin is a leading historian, critic and reviewer of Renaissance Art. He is the author and editor of numerous books on the subject, including From Marble to Flesh: The Biography of Michelangelo's David (2014), and has taught at Rhodes College since 1995. He lives in Memphis, Tennessee.