The Bite Magazine - Spring/Summer 2023 - Issue 33

biteexhibition (light and shadow effects). He used wood for some of his poignant religious images like Mary Magdalene and John the Baptist, covering the sculpted wood with gesso, a plaster made from gypsum. It acted as a primer for the paint, which was applied to enhance the figure’s life-like- ness. Using this method, he could change the look and feel of the wood, masking or exaggerating its texture. The gesso on Donatello’s ‘Magdalene’ was layered thickly and used to model the hair, with nails underneath to provide structure and support. Donatello’s ‘Piot Madonna’ has the background decorated with a series of red roundels with wax images of vases and the dove of the Holy Spirit. The terracotta relief was initially glided, creating a stunning contrast between the reflective glided and the coloured roundels. His unusual combination of varied materials is seen in the ‘Prato Pulpit’ made during his partnership with the sculptor and architect Michelozzo in the 1420-1430s. It combines a marble relief with a mosaic background. The Donatello: Sculpting the Renaissance was de- veloped in collaboration with Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi, the Museo Nazionale del Bargello in Flor- ence, and the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin in Ger- many. It was supported by the Italian-Anglo fami- ly-run Rocco Forte Hotels with 14 individual hotels and resorts and accompanied by a new V&A publi- cation edited by Peta Motture. www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/donatello-sculpt- ing-the-renaissance Donatello - Crucifixion Donatello - Attis-Amorino