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Only three large-scale, free-standing figures can be connected with the sculptor. The Martelli Youthful St John the Baptist (Florence, Bargello), notable for the extreme shallowness of its carving and delicacy of expression, was once attributed to Donatello, but it can be given to Desiderio on stylistic grounds and on the strength of a documented connection between Desiderio and the Martelli family. The polychromed wooden statue of St Mary Magdalene (Florence, Santa Trìnita) was, according to Vasari, started by Desiderio and finished by Benedetto da Maiano; it also shows the influence of Donatello, as does a wooden crucifix from the convent at Bosco ai Frati, also formerly given to Donatello but now attributed to Desiderio. These works have been dated to Desiderio’s early period, but instead seem to be the products of his last years, that is during the 1460s, when both he and Donatello were working on different projects in San Lorenzo.
The free-standing marble statue of St John the Baptist, the so-called Martelli Baptist, has been persistently ascribed to Donatello, but its handling and conception are not consistent with Donatello's style. In the hands and head the plastic contrast are minimized, while the hair is represented by surface drawing in somewhat greater depth but with the same rhytmical character as in Desiderio's late reliefs.
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