Donatello,_san_luigi_di_tolosa,_1423-25,_02

''Saint Louis of Toulouse'' is a 1423–1425 gilded bronze sculpture of

Louis of Toulouse Saint Louis of Toulouse (9 February 1274 – 19 August 1297), also known as Louis of Anjou, was a Neapolitan prince of the Capetian House of Anjou and a Catholic bishop. Life Louis was born in Brignoles, Provence (or in Italy, at Nocera, where ...

Donatello Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi ( – 13 December 1466), better known as Donatello ( ), was a Republic of Florence, Florentine sculptor of the Renaissance period. Born in Republic of Florence, Florence, he studied classical sculpture and use ...

, measuring 2.26 m high by 0.85 m wide. It is now in the refectory of the Museo di Santa Croce in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

. It is the artist's earliest surviving bronze sculpture and was commissioned by the

Guelphs The Guelphs and Ghibellines (, , ; it, guelfi e ghibellini ) were factions supporting the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor, respectively, in the Italian city-states of Central Italy and Northern Italy. During the 12th and 13th centuries, rival ...

for their external niche at the centre of the via de' Calzaiuoli facade of the on

Orsanmichele Orsanmichele (; "Kitchen Garden of St. Michael", from the Tuscan contraction of the Italian word ''orto'') is a church in the Italian city of Florence. The building was constructed on the site of the kitchen garden of the monastery of San Michel ...

- the saint had given up his crown for the religious life, an idea also favoured by the Guelphs, who backed the papal party in the

Investiture Controversy The Investiture Controversy, also called Investiture Contest (German: ''Investiturstreit''; ), was a conflict between the Church and the state in medieval Europe over the ability to choose and install bishops (investiture) and abbots of monast ...

and later conflicts. The statue was completed in 1425, with Donatello also designing its niche according to

Vasari Giorgio Vasari (, also , ; 30 July 1511 – 27 June 1574) was an Italian Renaissance Master, who worked as a painter, architect, engineer, writer, and historian, who is best known for his work ''The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculpt ...

, but in 1459 the niche was instead sold to the Tribunale della Mercanzia and used for their commission '' Christ and St. Thomas''. Donatello was still alive and the statue was instead taken to Santa Croce, which St Louis had visited and where it was placed on a central niche in the facade. When the 19th-century facade was built the sculpture was put into store and then into the museum. In 1943 the Orsanmichele sculptures and others were place in secure storage for the duration of the war - ''St Louis'' was briefly placed in its original niche on the via de' Calzaiuoli facade of the Orsanmichele.

Bibliography

* Rolf C. Wirtz, ''Donatello'', Könemann, Colonia 1998. *Bonnie A. Bennett and David G. Wilkins, ''Donatello'', Oxford 1984 {{Donatello category:Bronze sculptures in Italy

Louis Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also Derived or associated terms * Lewis ( ...

category:Sculptures by Donatello category:1425 sculptures