The Prophet Habakkuk
7:00 AM |
| Donatello, The Prophet Habakkuk, 1423-1426 |
Lively statues comforting a lonely man, a battle for perfection, and free-loading artists. I do believe we have entered The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
"Speak! Speak! Or be damned!" Donatello dramatically yells as he bursts from frustration in creating realistic features in his Prophet Habakkuk, or as he likes to call it, Il Zuccone. One part of the five sculpture series, Il Zuccone accurately portrays Donatello's talent in facial features. Showing realistic expressions, thoroughly sets Donatello apart from any other sculpture in the Renaissance. Donatello's confidence in sculpting grew from his incessant craving for perfection in his art. Demonstrated by the swear-worthy Il Zuccone, Donatello shows self-improvement from his peasant-like Crucifix created ten years earlier.
Giving life to the lifeless, is arguably the common goal of all artists. Whether it be canvas, stone, brick, or the side of a converse shoe, the idea is apparent. Donatello's life work of attempting to sculpt vitality, to the point of yelling at his sculptures to speak back, reveals his own progressiveness as an artist. Before this, I often disregarded sculptures, un-entertained by the lack of color and the overall banality of using one substance. However, Donatello's greatness far surpasses my expectations when beginning my research. The beauty of creating life from one substance now impresses me, not to mention the amount of sass one artist can bring to stone.
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