Verrochio fulfills commissions from Lorenzo de'Medici for …
Years: 1472 - 1472
Verrochio fulfills commissions from Lorenzo de'Medici for a bronze David (it will be sold to the Signoria of Florence in 1476), and, for the Palazzo Vecchio, a bronze Putto with a Dolphin and the Resurrection in terra cotta relief, all three of which all invite comparison with Donatello in both the choice and interpretation of subject matter.
The elegant detail and finish of the David, standing in a classical contrapposto pose over the severed head of Goliath, reveals Verocchio’s early training as a goldsmith.
In his studied characterization of the warriors' varied reactions in the Resurrection, Verrochio appears to be making a deliberate comment on Donatello's own dramatic reliefs.
Apparently succeeding Donatello as the principal sculptor of the Medici family, Verrochio incorporates an ornate sarcophagus in his first major work for them, the monumental “Medici Tomb” of Piero and Giovanni de'Medici, a virtuoso work of bronze and marble executed in 1472 for the church of San Lorenzo in Florence.
