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The group called the Altare del Santo composed altogether of twenty-nine pieces of sculpture. Among them, four bas-reliefs in bronze with the miracles of St Anthony (Miracle of the Ass, Miracle of the New-born Child, Miracle of the Repentant Son, Miracle of the Avaricious Man's Heart).
In the Miracles series Donatello adopted flattened relief on a roughened surface which served to break up the light and diffuse it, thus achieving a luminous atmosphere in which the incorporeal images appear to float. Never until now had architecture played such a prominent part in narrative relief scenes. In the Miracles it is the rhythm of the architecture that unites the jostling crowd and is felt to be the chief protagonist.
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