Donatello"s work has forever changed the way that art is created, viewed, and interpreted. Generally, this Italian Renaissance sculptor is considered by most experts to be one of the greatest sculptors of all time; he is also thought of as the founder of modern sculpture. Donatello"s impact on the art world will never be able to be truly measured. He had such an influence on artists that his techniques are still used by sculptors today.

             Donatello was born Donnato Di Niccolo Di Betto Bardi in Florence, Italy. Most records show that he was born in the year 1386, although the actual date of his birth is unknown. His father, Niccolo di Betto Bardi, was a Florentine wool comber; but Donatello, unlike most sons of that time, had no plans of following in his father"s footsteps. While nothing is known of his childhood, education, nor of his training in sculpture, it is assumed that around 1400 he began learning stone carving from one of the sculptors working for the cathedral of Florence. It has been estab-lished that at the age of seventeen, he met, learned from, and worked for Lorenzo Ghiberti, a noted sculptor in bronze. As a member of Ghiberti"s workshop, Donatello assisted in constructing and decorating the famous bronze north doors of the baptistery of San Giovanni in Florence, a project that took more than twenty years to complete. .

             Not only did Donatello work with noted sculptors of his time, but also with the famous architect, Filippo Brunelleschi. With Brunelleschi, Donatello reputedly visited Rome in the early years of the 15th century in order to study the monuments of antiquity. Oddly enough, Filippo started out as more of a sculptor in silver and gold than as an architect. He had entered the contest for the famous design competition for the bronze doors of the Florence Baptistery in 1401 but, of course, he lost the competition to Lorenzo Ghiberti, who was assisted by Donatello.