Donatello (1386–1466) was an Italian sculptor in the early Renaissance, working mainly in Florence. He came before the more famous names many students already know, such as Michelangelo. People remember him for statues that look like real bodies standing in real space, not stiff church figures; his bronze David is the one teachers usually show. He worked in stone, bronze, and wood. When an English text says 'a Donatello', it almost always means this man, not a later artist with a similar name.