The+Lion;+Donatello,+1420


 * A Copy of a Copy**


 * Creator || Donatello ||
 * Title || Marzocco (Florentine Lion) ||
 * Date || 1418 - 1420 ||
 * Material || sandstone (macigno) ||
 * Measurements || Height: 135.5 cm; Width of base: 38 cm; Depth of base: 60 cm ||
 * Repository || Museo nazionale del Bargello (Florence, Italy) ||
 * ARTstor Collection || Italian and other European Art (Scala Archives) ||

**HISTORY:** //The Lion //, or better known by the Italian name, //Marzocco //, is a sculpture of a lion most famous for the rendition created by Donatello in 1420. The lion is a symbol of Florence and the Medici family. Donatello’s //Marzooco //was commissioned by the Republic of Florence for the apartment of Pope Martin V in Santa Maria Novella (Lindley, 2000).

The //Marzooco // by Donatello was moved to Piazza della Signoria in 1812, replacing the most famous sculpture in Florence until that time (which was there since 1377). The lion which was once in this spot had weathered away to an unrecognizable pile of stone (Cruttwell, 1911).

Donatello’s rendition was carved out of soft gray stone which is called pietra serena. Because of the frailness of this stone Donatello’s statue also had to be moved to a museum. Today a bronze copy stands in its place ( //Tuscan sculptures, // 1902).

**SOURCES:**

Cruttwell, M. (1911). //Donatello//. Rome: Methuen.

Herbermann, C. (1909). //The catholic encyclopedia: an international work of reference on the constitution, doctrine, discipline, and history of the catholic church//. New York: Robert Appleton company.

Lindley, P. (2000). //Secular sculpture 1300-1550//. Shaun Tyas.

//Tuscan sculpture of the fifteenth century: a collection of sixteen pictures reproducing works//. (1902). New York: Houghton, Mifflin.