Photo credit: © Paolo Gallo/Shutterstock
We are incredibly excited about the V&A’s latest exhibition, Donatello: Sculpting the Renaissance, which opens tomorrow (11 February).
It’s the UK’s first major retrospective of the master sculptor which follows the course of his artisanship, his influence and his followers. It will transport you to Renaissance Florence and remind you of the artistic practices of the time, where you would be commissioned by the church or wealthy patrons and complete pieces with the assistance of members of his workshop who may then become leading sculptors in their own right.
The Guardian, awarding the exhibition five stars, observes the fun in Donatello’s work: “He has an irrepressible joy in life, after all this time. Two marble reliefs bubble with energy as a crowd of winged boys dance and laugh, at once wild and elegant, their crazy cavortings bursting out of the closed spaces they inhabit. Donatello has fun with the rules of classical art. He frames the little dancers between straight ranks of fluted pilasters. Yet this rigid architecture is a device to make their jumping and grinning all the more unruly.”
Another 5 star review, from the Evening Standard, states: “This is a chance to revel in the work of arguably the greatest sculptor of his era… This is a show not to miss – but one of the finest things in it is here to stay. The marvellous, subtly undulating low relief of the Ascension is part of the V&A’s permanent collection. When this exhibition is over, come and look at this, again and again.”
Highlights of the exhibition include David, Madonna of the Clouds and Lamentation over the Dead Christ.
Tickets are on sale now and there is even limited availability for the opening days but be quick – we are sure they will sell very quickly.