In the following year, the Venetian cause was strengthened by alliance with Florence, and Gattamelata yielded the first place in command to Sforza, the general of the Florentine forces. In 1440 the united armies succeeded in relieving Brescia, but in the same year a calamity befell Gattamelata. Exposure to cold brought on paralysis, and after a lingering illness of two years he died. The honor of a great funeral was accorded him at the public expense, and he was buried in the church of S. Antonio at Padua. The next year the sculptor, Donatello, was commissioned to make an equestrian statue of the great condottiere to be set up in the square in front of the church.[56] With quiet dignity Gattamelata rides forward on his horse as if reviewing his army. There is nothing pompous in his attitude or manner. He seems a plain man intent upon his task, with no thought of display. He has the strong face of one born for leadership, and we can believe the stories of his troops' devotion to him. With his right hand he lifts his wand in a gesture of command, letting it rest across the horse's neck. He is dressed in the picturesque war costume of the period, and wears metal plates upon his arms. A long sword swings at his side, and spurs are attached to his heels. Yet apparently he is not actually equipped for the battle, for his head is uncovered. He has a high receding forehead and thick curls. The peculiar shape of the head, looking almost conical from some points of view, indicates a forcible character. It is evident that this is a man of action rather than of words. His appearance fits admirably the facts of his life as one whose energy and courage could overcome any obstacle. Gattamelata was not a patriot, as we understand patriotism, being but a mercenary captain. But he showed a rare loyalty to the cause he espoused. It is not as a fighting man that we admire him to-day, but as a man of remarkable resources. Obedient to the master's hand, the horse ambles at a moderate pace. Except the bridle, he has no trappings, and we thus see to the best advantage the fine proportions of his figure. Before undertaking this work Donatello had had no experience in modelling the horse, and his success is the more remarkable. It is, however, the man rather than the horse which shows the full power of the sculptor's art. The subject was one exactly suited to his taste, which preferred vigorous masculine qualities to all others. In ancient sculpture equestrian subjects were very important. On the Parthenon at Athens a frieze of bas-relief contained rows of horsemen riding in the Panathenaic procession.[57] In a public square in Rome was a famous statue of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius on horseback. Donatello was the first sculptor of the Christian era to revive this noble form of art. The statue of Gattamelata is therefore the parent of the long line of modern equestrian statues. [Footnote 55: The literal meaning of this sobriquet is _Honeyed cat_.]