Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi, universally known as Donatello, was born in Florence around 1386 and died there in 1466.
The powerful expressivity of his art made him the greatest sculptor of the early Renaissance.
Masterpieces from the first phases of his career include the vigilant marble Saint George, made for the guildhall of Orsanmichele (ca. 1417; Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence); the gilt-bronze Saint Louis of Toulouse at the Church of Santa Croce, Florence (ca. 1422-25); and his bronze relief of the Feast of Herod and statuettes of angels on the baptismal font in the Baptistery of Siena (1425-29).