Restored in 1972 with funding from Save Venice founders Betty and John McAndrew.

This remarkable wooden sculpture of Saint John the Baptist is the only work in Venice by Donatello, one of the most important and innovative sculptors of the early Renaissance in Florence. Although the original installation of the statue is unclear, it is presently located on the altar of the chapel of the Florentine community in the Basilica dei Frari, on the right side of the transept.

Donatello depicted the Baptist in his characteristic hair shirt made of animal pelts and with a golden cloak draped over his shoulders. In his left hand, he holds an unfurled scroll inscribed with “ECCE  A[GNUS DEI],” or “behold the lamb of God” — the words that he used to describe Jesus. His other hand is lifted, his lips parted, and his eyebrows raised; it is as if we are witnessing him preaching in the desert.

During restoration, conservators uncovered an inscription on the base of the sculpture that bears the date of execution and the artist’s signature: “MCCCCXXXVIII / OPUS / DONATI DE / FLO RENTIA,” or “1438, work of Donato of Florence.” This discovery resolved a centuries-long scholarly debate regarding the dating of the sculpture.

Already in the sixteenth century the Tuscan biographer and artist Giorgio Vasari suggested that Donatello probably carved this figure in the 1450s. Numerous scholars thereafter supported that date, citing its close resemblance to Donatello’s evocative figure of Mary Magdalene in Florence; their similarly exaggerated emotional effect was considered characteristic of Donatello’s late style. In addition, Donatello worked in Padua in the late 1440s, increasing the likelihood that the artist also visited Venice while working in the Veneto.

It is likely that Donatello carved the figure for his fellow Florentines in Venice at the request of Cosimo de’ Medici, perhaps in part to thank the Venetians for their generosity during his exiled family’s stay in Venice in 1433.

The sculpture was restored by conservators Ferruccio and Serafino Volpin, with the guidance of project director Francesco Valcanover of the Superintendency of Fine Arts of Venice.

For select projects, conservation dossiers in Italian containing limited textual and photographic documentation may be available for consultation by appointment at the Venice office of Save Venice and the Rosand Library & Study Center. For inquiries, please contact us at venice@savevenice.org.

Donatello (c. 1386 – 1466)
Saint John the Baptist
1438, polychromed poplar and walnut
height 140 cm, width 42,5 cm; depth 27 cm

Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari: Homepage

Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari: Link to the work

Pfisterer, Ulrich. Donatello und die Entdeckung der Stile, 1430-1445. Munich: Hirmer, 2002

Valcanover, Francesco. “Il San Giovanni Battista di Donatello ai Frari.” Quaderni della Soprintendenza ai Beni Artistici e Storici di Venezia 8 (1979): 23-31

Venice Restored, 1966-1986. The UNESCO campaign and the contribution of privare organizations. Milan: Electa, 1991