How was it made? Donatello's marble carving technique | V&A

Sculptor Simon Smith tells us why marble is 'the Emperor of all stones' and 'like a slice of the moon', as he recreates a panel from the 15th-century Prato Pulpit in Italy. The carved pulpit features metre-high dancing cherubs, which Simon copies from photographs – scaling them down to fit his block of marble, while retaining the spirit and joy of Donatello's original.

Watch the shapes appear as Simon uses different chisels and tools to cut and refine the marble, explaining how carving is all about trapping shadows and watching light play across the surface.

You can see – and touch – the panel made by Simon in our exhibition Donatello: Sculpting the Renaissance.

00:00 The properties of marble
00:26 What is the Prato Pulpit?
01:09 Drawing from photographs
01:56 Traditional vs contemporary chisels
03:16 The difficulties of marble carving
04:22 The claw tool
04:42 Trapping shadows and playing with light
05:29 Filing and pumicing
06:24 The spirit and joy of Donatello’s carving

Find out more about the exhibition and book tickets: https://www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/donatello-sculpting-the-renaissance

More 'How was it Made?' films: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLe2ihXndm5js7ANCTaZ26aocPKe74M8XJ

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