Gattamelata

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Equestrian monument of Gattamelata in Padua

Erasmo da Narni , called Gattamelata or Gattamelà (* 1370 in Narni ; † January 16, 1443 in Padua ) was an Italian condottiere who began as a butcher boy in his native Narni. The nickname "Gattamelata" (spotted cat) alludes to the alleged cunning of the feared Venetian mercenary leader.

Gattamelata began his mercenary career with Braccio da Montone , served the Pope and the city of Florence equally, supported Venice in the battles against the Visconti from Milan in 1434 and became dictator in Padua in 1437. Donatello immortalized him in Padua in 1447 with a bronze sculpture, the first equestrian statue cast in monumental format since ancient times .

literature

  • Joachim Poeschke, Equestrian Images and Value Symbolism in the Early Renaissance - On Donatello's Gattamelata Monument , in: Joachim Poeschke, Thomas Weigel, Britta Kusch-Arnhold (eds.), Praemium Virtutis III - Equestrian Statues from Antiquity to Classicism . Rhema-Verlag, Münster 2008, ISBN 978-3-930454-59-4
  • Raphael Beuing: Equestrian Images of the Early Renaissance - Monument and Memoria . Rhema-Verlag, Münster 2010, ISBN 978-3-930454-88-4
  • Antonio Menniti Ippolito: Erasmo da Narni, detto il Gattamelata . In: Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani . Volume 43, 1993, pp. 46-52

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The Little Encyclopedia . Volume 1, Encyclios-Verlag, Zurich 1950, p. 575.
personal data
SURNAME Gattamelata
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Erasmo da Narni
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Italian condottiere
DATE OF BIRTH 1370
PLACE OF BIRTH Narni
DATE OF DEATH January 16, 1443
Place of death Padua