BARGELLO, Donatello

Go upstairs and into the large Salone del Consiglio generale, or General Council Hall to the right of the loggia: a powerful, Gothic room with a vaulted ceiling that's directly above the room on the ground floor where you admired Michelangelo's works. Here you'll see an incomparable selection of 15th-century Florentine sculpture masterpieces that confirm the stylistic model based on antiquity, but also on harmonious proportions and the intellectual force of the human figure.

I recommend starting with the two bronze panels that were presented by Filippo Brunelleschi and Lorenzo Ghiberti as part of the competition to decide who would decorate the second baptistery door in 1401. Identical in form and subject (the famous biblical scene of the Sacrifice of Isaac), you can easily note the characteristics of the two artists: Brunelleschi depicted the figures in space with an amazing balance - and in fact he became a great architect - while Ghiberti's attention to surfaces is worthy of a goldsmith, and for this reason he won the competition.

But the great protagonist of the hall is Donatello, the long-lived and ingenious sculptor who was excellent at experimenting with different subjects and materials.

Go straight to the Gothic niche on the back wall of the large hall to see his gorgeous St. George sculpted at the beginning of the 15th century for the confraternity of armor producers that was originally located outside Orsanmichele Church.

Look at the proud confidence in the young saint's attitude: his well-balanced pose, controlled energy, and strong personality make him the true predecessor of Michelangelo's David. The tabernacle is completed by the underlying bas-relief, with the scene where St. George on Horseback kills the dragon and frees the princess.

Among the other works by Donatello I'd like to point out Marzocco, the lion symbol of the Florentine Republic that you probably noticed a copy of in Piazza della Signoria, the lively and realistic Bust of Niccolò da Uzzano in painted terracotta, and the extraordinary bronze David resting his foot on the head of the giant Goliath. Notice how his still-adolescent body contrasts with his face's severe expression.

FUN FACT: Donatello was greatly appreciated by Cosimo dei Medici, who from his deathbed gave him an estate in the countryside. But the artist did not like the countryside and asked Cosimo's son to take the gift back. The Medici found this quite amusing, and took the estate back and turned it into a weekly vacation spot.