with the modelling of
horses, and for every reason it was a bold thing for him to undertake
such a work.

Donatello had more influence upon the art of his time than any other
Tuscan sculptor, with the single exception of Michael Angelo. As a man
he was honest, simple, and upright in all his dealings; as a friend he
was loyal and faithful; as a Christian he was humble and charitable, and
left behind him a name which has been handed down through more than four
centuries with respect and honor.

LUCA DELLA ROBBIA (1400-1481) is another native of Florence, whose name
is widely known. Like many others, he began life as a goldsmith, and in
this way gained a mastery over detail and a finish of style that are
remarkable in all his works. He turned his attention to sculpture early
in life, and was so enthusiastic in his pursuit of this art that he
worked night and day, minding neither cold nor hunger and fatigue; in
the beginning he made numerous wax models, which have perished, and with
all his industry we have no work of his before he was forty-five years
old, except the reliefs of Music, Philosophy, Geometry, Grammar and
Astronomy, Plato and Aristotle, Ptolemy and Euclid, and a man playing a
lute, which are set into the side of the Campanile at Florence, and two
scenes from the life of St. Peter, which are in the Uffizi.

In the same gallery are also the series of reliefs which Luca began when
forty-five years old for the balustrade of an organ in the cathedral.
These reliefs represent boys singing, dancing, and playing on musical
instruments (Fig. 86). The attitudes are so graceful and so varied, and
the expressions on the faces are so many, that there is much to admire
in a subject which in unskilful hands would be very monotonous.

[Illustration: FIG. 86.--DANCING BOYS. _By Luca della Robbia._]

No sculptures since the classic days represent child-life with such
freshness and charming qualities, and these alone would have raised Luca
to a high rank as a sculptor. In the Uffizi one is able to examine these
works closely, and they gain by this nearness to the eye, which enables
one to see the minuteness of his finish. There are various works of his
in bronze and marble still to be seen in the churches of Florence, but
the special art to which he gave his attention was to the perfecting of
enamel upon terra-cotta--on the making of what is known as the Robbia
ware. In this he achieved a great success, and his bas-reliefs