20 August 2026
Florence
The exhibition on Donatello, The Renaissance opens in Florence on 19th March 2022, a wonderful opportunity to discover his extraordinary genius and artistic talent, to learn about the techniques used by the master, the materials chosen and to better understand Donatello's world compared to Brunelleschi, Masaccio, Andrea Mantegna, Bellini, Raffaello and Michelangelo.
Conceived as a single exhibition by its curator Francesco Caglioti, the exhibition will be held at Palazzo Strozzi and the Museo Nazionale del Bargello. It will be networked with other museums, organisations and institutions in the area, both Italian and international: the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and the Staatliche Museen in Berlin.
Donatello and his art expand and transcend the boundaries of space and time and bring us new suggestions and insights from the past into the art he produced.
Coincidence or choice, the opening of this exhibition on 19th March coincides with Italian Father's Day. What better occasion for a holiday out of town, in Florence, for the exhibition celebrating one of the greatest fathers and creators of the Renaissance: Donatello!
Who was Donatello, Father of the Renaissance?
Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi, known as Donatello, was born in Florence in 1386 from a humble family, his career was as long as his life, he died at the age of 80. Like many young Florentines of the 1300s, he began his artistic career in the workshop of a goldsmith but soon distinguished himself for his talent and Lorenzo Ghiberti took him on. There he learnt bronze working, the skill and method of treating shapes in a harmonious way, as well as assisting Ghiberti in the construction of the Florence Baptistery. It is to his inventive intuition that we owe the innovative 'pictorial' rendering of statues and works even before in the painting itself. His incredible use of illusionism in relief (aerial perspective) is also admirable. If you want an example above all, in Florence we recommend you go and see Saint George and the Dragon, a bas-relief executed by the artist in 1416 that you will find in an external niche of the church of Orsanmichele in Florence.
He also invented the stiacciato technique, used in Herod's Banquet in the Baptistery of Siena. This technique creates an illusion of depth in the viewer: the thickness gradually decreases from the foreground to the background.
A sculptor, architect and painter, together with Filippo Brunelleschi and Masaccio, he won the respect and the name of Father of the Renaissance because he renewed the methods of sculpture by going beyond the experience of the classical and late Gothic Roman tradition.
Dad, I celebrate you in Florence!
A unique opportunity, therefore, in this March to think about a stay in Florence, to walk in the colours of a spring that is blossoming shyly and a newfound desire to enjoy beauty, art and culture. When you book your holiday at Palazzo Castri rely on our booking service, just tell us the time and day you want to visit the exhibition and we will organise everything for you!
