Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Donatello and America’s self-image

Abstract

In the late nineteenth century, Augustus Saint-Gaudens (1848–1907) utilized a newly profound admiration for Donatello (1386–1466) to convey ideas specifically tuned to his patrons and their views of the United States in its Gilded Age. The works inspired by Donatello were an essential factor in the formation of the nation’s image of itself after the Civil War. By infusing his works with the spirit of Donatello, Saint-Gaudens addressed the desire of prominent Americans to show their country as a land of powerful and successful individuals. A large number of written statements by Saint-Gaudens and his contemporaries are included to illuminate his relationship to Donatello and to demarcate the messages that the American sculptor’s works conveyed. This article places Saint-Gaudens’ interest in Donatello into an international context, including its relationship to neo-Florentinism, an understudied phenomenon of the time. It then investigates, in greater depth than has yet been pursued, the specifics and impact of Saint-Gaudens’ use of Donatello, as visible in his sculpture and as understood by his peers. This relationship between the two artists manifests itself in several ways, including the influence of Donatello’s St George, the impact of Donatello’s low relief style, and the incorporation of Donatello’s bold spatial formulations.