Lot Essay
Probably the most famous example of fifteenth-century sculpture is the bronze David by Donatello. According to Giorgio Vasari (1511- 1574), the Bronze David was made for Cosimo before the exile of the Medici, and consequently previous to Donatello's second journey to Rome. It was removed from the courtyard of the palace to the Palazzo Pubblico, where it remained for many years. Antonio Francesco Doni (1513-1574) mentions it as being there in 1549, and soon afterwards it was replaced by Verrocchio's fountain of the Boy squeezing the Dolphin. It is now in the Bargello National Museum in Florence, Italy.