Donatello's outstanding virtuosity shows both his devotion and his playfulness
Visitors to the V&A’s Donatello: Sculpting the Renaissance are greeted by a young David standing proudly with the head of Goliath at his feet. As a symbol of the city of Florence and commissioned originally for the Cathedral – only to be quickly repurposed as a civic emblem for the Palazzo della Signoria – the statue perfectly introduces us to Donatello placed at the heart of Florentine self-image.
