Long before this, other Florentine Guilds had joined in the public-spirited competition. Moreover, other sculptors were discovered. In 1416 Donatello had been commissioned by the Guild of Armourers to model a figure for Or San Michele. The result was the well-known “Saint George.” It was followed by the statue of “Saint Mark,” of which Michael Angelo said “it would have been impossible to reject the Gospel from so straightforward a witness.” The “Saint Mark” is a typical work of Donatello’s first period (1405 to 1425). The whole conception of the Apostle is based upon a foundation of stern realism. Gothic strength rather than Attic grace is aimed at. Comparing it with such a work as Ghiberti’s “Saint Matthew,” we see at once that an immense step forward has been taken. The opportunity is nothing to Ghiberti. His deep knowledge of perspective is valueless, of course. His ingenuity in the elaboration of detail proves a drawback rather than an advantage. He produces a graceful lay figure. So with the “Saint George.” Donatello revels in the chance of sculpturing a life-sized figure. He makes the masses and lines of the body tell. The ideal aimed at is the ideal of the Greek sculptor, who felt that his true medium of expression was the human form. Donatello has found the essentials common to all great sculpture—the basis upon which the greatness of Greek art depends. He has rediscovered the _a b c_ of the language of marble and bronze which every sculptor must realize, whatever differences of thought and emotion he seeks to express. [Illustration: DONATELLO SAINT GEORGE From Or San Michele, Florence] THE INFLUENCE OF THE PLATONISTS This brings us to the great problem of fifteenth-century Italian sculpture—its relationship to the art of Greece or Rome. Donatello is frequently cited as the pioneer of the reviving interest in classical sculpture. Following Vasari, the text-books tell of his visit to Rome with Brunelleschi in 1403. They dwell upon the statement that Donatello spent much time in arranging the collection of ancient sculpture in the Medici gardens. Recent investigation, however, shows conclusively that Donatello’s first visit to Rome was made in 1433. In any case, an honest critic must admit that little evidence of direct Greek and Roman influence can be observed in his works. Comparing the “Saint Mark” with such a Hellenic statue as the “Phocion” in the Vatican or the “Sophocles” in the Lateran, what strikes us most strongly is the entire difference in the spirit animating the later work.