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

Funeral Monument to the Anti-pope John XXIII (detail)

1422-28
Gilded pietra serena
Baptistery, Florence

The reclining statue of the anti-pope John XXIII, Cardinal Baldassarre Cossa, who died in Florence in 1419, is realistically rendered in the facial details and the deep folds of the garments; it lies under the high baldachin.

The head of the deceased man is leaning to one side is modelled extraordinarily vividly; his body is the only part of the funeral monument to have been carried out in gilded bronze. In addition, the structuring of the garment shows a high degree of artistic skill.




© Web Gallery of Art, created by Emil Krén and Daniel Marx.