Optical Corrections in the Sculpture of Donatello

Book excerpt: There is considerable evidence for Donatello's use of optical corrections that scholars have largely ignored. It may come in some degree from an unwillingness to accept the idea that such visual effects, developed only in the 16th century & not common until the Baroque, were even possible in the early Renaissance. This study, by its arguments & its photographic evidence, may reopen the discussion of optical corrections in the work of Donatello &, perhaps, in that of some of his contemporaries & followers as well. Contents: Introduction; Donatello's Sculpture in the Round; The Reliefs; Bibliography of Frequently Cited Sources; & 64 black & white photos of Donatello's sculptures.