DONATELLO
(b. ca. 1386, Firenze, d. 1466, Firenze)

Evangelist Matthew

1428-43
Polychrome stucco, diameter: 215 cm
Old Sacristy, San Lorenzo, Florence

Four roundels show the Evangelists realistically robed and seated at their desks. They are three-quarter length and in profile, and in the bold perspective and foreshortening of the figures Donatello repeats his dynamic concept of representation.

Suggested listening (streaming mp3, 8 minutes):
Johann Sebastian Bach: St. Matthew Passion BWV 244 (excerpts)