Page:The history of medieval Europe.djvu/660

604 THE HISTORY OF MEDIEVAL EUROPE boy, was the first nude bronze statue cast since Roman times. His funeral monument for Pope John XXIII in the baptistery at Florence became the model for many similar works with their combination of classical sculpture and architecture. His portrait bust of Niccolo da Uzzano is a wonderful example of delineation of character. His bronze statue of Gattamelata, a Venetian mercenary general, on horseback, executed at Padua in 1453, is, after the Col- leoni monument in Venice, the finest equestrian statue of the Renaissance. Perhaps the greatest of all his works was his St. George. It is unlike most classical statues, for the young saint is represented clad in medieval armor and his fiery gaze is fixed directly on the beholder, not downcast in passive beauty. Moreover, the effect striven for, is not so much physical beauty and grace as vigor and energy, intel- lectual character and moral purpose. Vasari has well de- scribed it: "For the gild of armorers Donatello executed a most animated figure of St. George in his armor. The bright- ness of youthful beauty, generosity, and bravery shine forth in his face. His attitude gives evidence of a proud and ter- rible impetuosity. The character of the saint is indeed expressed most wonderfully and life seems to move withm that stone." During the second half of the fifteenth century there was no single sculptor equal to Donatello, but the decorative side Progress in of the art was developed and further improve- pamting me nt was made in technique. Meanwhile the painters had been learning many lessons. Those who had served, as many did, an apprenticeship in the workshops of sculptors or goldsmiths learned lessons in anatomy and how to represent the human figure in a natural and correct way. Progress was also made in designing, some artists experi- mented with colors, and others worked out the laws of fore- shortening and perspective. Oil painting had been intro- duced at the beginning of the century, when the Flemish painter, Van Eyck, employed it on large canvases. For the cities of Flanders in the fifteenth century had painters sec- ond only to the Italians. The themes of paintings continued