A marble statue of David was Donatello’s first famous work, it showed artistic style of Ghiberti. The Gothic style was graceful and had soft curved lines influenced by the northern European art. Later on his life Donatello had developed his own style which is know as schiacciato which means “flattened out” (Web Art). This technique was achieved by carving throughout instead of modeling his shapes. It was said to be like painting using a chisel. The carvings made were very shallow and created a dramatic effect of atmospheric space. Schiacciato panels depended on visual rather than tactile perception. Between 1420 until early 1530s Donatello continued to explore different techniques and possibilities on marble reliefs, his most developed work during this time was the Ascension with Christ Giving the Keys to Saint Peter. It was an exquisitely carved piece and its full elegant beauty can only be seen in a strong raking light (Web Art). At
Cited: http://www.wga.hu/index1.html Accessed May 5, 2008 http://discussion.academyart.edu/sectionContent/54-9100/4489/session_13.html Accessed May 5, 2008 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donatello Accessed May 7, 2008 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judith_and_Holofernes Accessed May 9, 2008 http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08554a.htm Accessed May 7, 2008