I was walking from the Duomo to Piazza Della Signoria when I saw Donatello’s sculpture of St. Mark. What first drew my eye was the intricate detail all across the arch. I never realized how much I would enjoy gothic style until I witnessed it here. What also stood out to me was the stance of the statue, and how it has remnants of a very naturalistic style, yet still holds a somewhat asymmetrical element bringing it back to the Dark Ages. The drapery is extremely impressive and can entice anyone to get close and graze it, just to convince them that it’s not real. Vasari mentions, “The figure was worked with such good judgment that while on the ground it’s excellence was not recognized by people lacking and understanding.” I found it funny that when the workers guild rejected the statue, Donatello covered it with a cloth for fifteen days without touching it, and then revealed it to them, and it was accepted. The reasoning behind it was that when he reintroduced it, he changed the level it was in, which was perfectly proportionate when viewed from below. The fact alone that the placement of the work determines how your eye sees it, fascinates me.
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