In 1386 Florence, Italy Donatello was born his full name is Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi
Donatello then became an apprentice to Lorenzo Ghiberti . In 1403, at the age of seventeen, Donatello was working for the master on the bronze reliefs of the doors of the Florentine Baptistery.
One of Donatello's earliest known works is the life-sized marble David. The David, dramatic in posture and full of youthful energy, possesses something of the graceful late Gothic feeling of a figure by Ghiberti
Donatello produced a strong and original style in two works, the large marble figure St. Mark on the outside of Orsanmichele, completed between 1411 and 1413 and the seated St. John the Evangelist for the facade of the Cathedral, finished in 1415.
Donatello's new style was confirmed in the famous St. George, carved in marble around 1416 and 1417 for the exterior of Orsanmichele. Even more significant is the little marble relief St. George and the Dragon, that decorates the base. The marble was ordered in 1417, and the relief was completed shortly afterward.
Donatello was requested to create many pieces or works, which he often executed with other artists. An unusual work is the Marzocco, the lion of the Florentines, carved in sandstone.