Not currently on display at the V&A

Model for a monument to Donatello

Model
ca. 1887 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This model consists of an elaborate and delicately executed architectural frame in pseudo-Renaissance style, which contains a bust of Donatello (based on the Uccello portrait) mounted on a bracket and a pair of putti sitting below. The charming, seated putto on the proper left holds a sketchpad on which is etched the outline of Donatello’s renowned marble Saint George statue, then still in a niche on the exterior of Orsanmichele, Florence (now in the Museo Nazionale del Bargello), honouring both the man and his art.

The 500th anniversary of Donatello’s birth was celebrated in 1886 throughout Florence. Several monuments were commissioned in homage to Donatello whose sculpture had enjoyed an international revival in the 19th century. One of these, unveiled in 1895 in Santa Croce, Florence, consists of a portrait bust of Donatello framed within a mosaic oculus, draped with acanthus wreaths and a commemorative plaque flanked by two putti below. The competition for this monument, initiated in 1886 by the Accademia delle Arti del Disegno, was fierce and none of the original models submitted were deemed suitable. After two further rounds of competition, the Italian sculptor Urbano Lucchesi’s design was finally selected.

Certain compositional similarities between the erected monument and this model, which both include a terracotta portrait bust and a commemorative plaque with two putti, led to the suggestion that the model was a competition entry submitted by Lucchesi. However, the composition and style of this intricately modelled and moulded sketch bears little resemblance to Lucchesi’s winning design - which featured a full-size seated portrait of Donatello - or to the later amended sketch he produced when the Accademia requested he scale back his proposal citing financial concerns.

Although unlikely to be by Lucchesi, this highly finished model is almost certainly a rejected competition entry for the Santa Croce monument, and bears the motto of the Accademia, ‘Tergeminis Tollit Honoribus’ in the architectural frieze. The model is a singularly important example of the late 19th-century revival of interest and appreciation for Donatello’s sculpture in particular and the Renaissance style more generally.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleModel for a monument to Donatello
Materials and techniques
Terracotta and plaster with traces of paint, on wood
Brief description
Model for a monument to Donatello, terracotta and plaster with traces of paint, on wood, Florentine (?), Italy, Florence, ca. 1887.
Physical description
Model, terracotta and plaster with traces of paint, on wood. The model consists of an elaborate and delicately executed architectural frame in the Renaissance style, which contains a bust of Donatello (based on the Uccello portrait) mounted on a bracket and a pari of putti sitting below. One of them holds a sketch-pad with an outline drawing of Donatello's statue of St George, while and almost illegible inscription below bears a name and the date 1887 in Latin numerals.
Dimensions
  • Height: 83.2cm
  • Width: 41.3cm
  • Depth: 10cm
Marks and inscriptions
TERGEMINIS TOLLIT HONORIBUS.
Credit line
Given by Heim Gallery.
Object history
Given by Heim Gallery.
Subject depicted
Associations
Summary
This model consists of an elaborate and delicately executed architectural frame in pseudo-Renaissance style, which contains a bust of Donatello (based on the Uccello portrait) mounted on a bracket and a pair of putti sitting below. The charming, seated putto on the proper left holds a sketchpad on which is etched the outline of Donatello’s renowned marble Saint George statue, then still in a niche on the exterior of Orsanmichele, Florence (now in the Museo Nazionale del Bargello), honouring both the man and his art.

The 500th anniversary of Donatello’s birth was celebrated in 1886 throughout Florence. Several monuments were commissioned in homage to Donatello whose sculpture had enjoyed an international revival in the 19th century. One of these, unveiled in 1895 in Santa Croce, Florence, consists of a portrait bust of Donatello framed within a mosaic oculus, draped with acanthus wreaths and a commemorative plaque flanked by two putti below. The competition for this monument, initiated in 1886 by the Accademia delle Arti del Disegno, was fierce and none of the original models submitted were deemed suitable. After two further rounds of competition, the Italian sculptor Urbano Lucchesi’s design was finally selected.

Certain compositional similarities between the erected monument and this model, which both include a terracotta portrait bust and a commemorative plaque with two putti, led to the suggestion that the model was a competition entry submitted by Lucchesi. However, the composition and style of this intricately modelled and moulded sketch bears little resemblance to Lucchesi’s winning design - which featured a full-size seated portrait of Donatello - or to the later amended sketch he produced when the Accademia requested he scale back his proposal citing financial concerns.

Although unlikely to be by Lucchesi, this highly finished model is almost certainly a rejected competition entry for the Santa Croce monument, and bears the motto of the Accademia, ‘Tergeminis Tollit Honoribus’ in the architectural frieze. The model is a singularly important example of the late 19th-century revival of interest and appreciation for Donatello’s sculpture in particular and the Renaissance style more generally.
Bibliographic reference
Motture, Peta, ed., Donatello: Sculpting the Renaissance, London: V&A Publishing, 2023. p. 246, cat. 6.15, entry by Whitney Kerr-Lewis Attribution: Florentine (?)
Collection
Accession number
A.159-1969

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Record createdJune 24, 2009
Record URL
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