03 — ARTWORK
Pulpit reliefs: No. 4
- MEDIUM
- Marble on mosaic background, 74 x 79 cm
- TYPE
- Religious
PALETTE
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- FILE
- 1400 × 1050 px · JPEG
COMMENTARY
UNDERLINED TERMS ARE DEFINED IN THE GLOSSARY.
Pulpit reliefs: No. 4 1428-38 Marbleloosely applied to any hard limestone that can be sawn into thin slabs and will take a good polish so that it is suitable for decorative work; more strictly, it refers to metamorphosed limestones whose structure has been recrystallized by heat or pressure. Marbles are widely disseminated and occur in a great variety of colours and patterns, but certain types have been particularly prized by sculptors. The most famous of Greek white marbles in the ancient world was the close-grained Pentelic, which was quarried at Mount Pentelicon in Attica. The Elgin Marbles are carved in Pentelic. Widely used also were the somewhat coarser-grained translucent white marbles from the Aegean islands of Paros and Naxos. Parian marble was used for the celebrated Mausoleum at Halicarnassus. The pure white Carrara marble, quarried at Massa, Carrara, and Pietra Santa in Tuscany from the 3rd century BC, is the most famous of all sculptors' stones. It was used for the Apollo Belvedere, and was much favoured in the Renaissance, particularly by Michelangelo, who often visited the quarries to select material for his work. Neoclassical sculptors also favoured Carrara marble because of its ability to take a smooth, sleek surface, but it can look rather 'dead' compared with some of the finest Greek marbles. on mosaic background, 74 x 79 cm Museo dell'Opera dell Duomo, Prato
Donatello continued to be much involved with reliefA sculptural work in which all or part projects from the flat surface. There are three basic forms: low relief (bas-relief, basso rilievo), in which figures project less than half their depth from the background; medium relief (mezzo-rilievo), in which figures are seen half round; and high relief (alto rilievo), in which figures are almost detached from their background.-carvings in the 1430s: a sacramental tabernaclea small canopied recess or container in which the Eucharist or a holy relic is kept. in St Peter's, Rome, its architecture peopled by angels and framing a scene of the Entombment (c. 1432); an external pulpit with panels of dancing putti for Prato CathedralThe principal church of a province or diocese, where the throne of the bishop is placed. For reasons lost to time and tradition, a cathedral always faces west - toward the setting sun. The altar is placed at the east end. The main body, or nave, of the cathedral is usually divided into one main and two side aisles. These lead up to the north and south transepts, or arms of the cross, the shape in which a cathedral is usually formed. (commissioned in 1428, but delayed until 1438); and an organ loft, later turned into a Singing Galleryan upper story, similar to a tribune, running along the side of a building and open on one side to the interior; in a church (basilica) above the side aisles, over the ambulatory (central-plan building) and also over the west end. The gallery was used to keep certain groups of worshippers apart (women, noblemen). (CantoriaA gallery for singers or musicians, usually in a church. Two outstanding examples are those by the sculptors Luca della Robbia and Donatello in Florence cathedral, both of which have richly carved marble panels.) for Florence Cathedral (1433-39).
The picture shows one of the seven reliefs (No. 4) on the external pulpit on the southern corner of the façadethe front or principal face of a building, especially one elaborately constructed; a blind façade is a façade that is purely decorative and does not relate to the structure of the building. of the Cathedral at Prato.
CITE THIS RECORD — BIBTEX
@online{wga-r00b351e2f87538,
author = {Krén, Emil and Marx, Daniel},
title = {Pulpit reliefs: No. 4 by DONATELLO},
organization = {{Web Gallery of Art}},
date = {2026-09-09},
url = {https://beta.wga.hu/artists/donatello-r431353c604b592/pulpit-reliefs-no-4-r00b351e2f87538},
urldate = {2026-09-09},
langid = {english}
}ACCESSED 2026-09-09. REPLACE THE AUTHOR FIELD WITH THE COMMENTARY AUTHOR WHERE ONE IS NAMED.
