Gattamelata

sculpture by Donatello

Also known as: “Equestrian monument of Erasmo da Narni”

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Article History

Gattamelata, bronze statue of the Venetian condottiere Erasmo da Narni (popularly known as Gattamelata, meaning “honeyed cat”) by the 15th-century Italian Renaissance sculptor Donatello. It was completed between 1447 and 1450 but was not installed on its pedestal in the Piazza del Santo in front of the Basilica of Sant’Antonio in Padua, Italy, until 1453. The statue established a prototype for equestrian monuments in the West.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Kathleen Kuiper.