ntent 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_.]

[Footnote 56: W. C. Hazlitt's _Venetian Republic_ furnishes the
quotations and information for this account of Gattamelata. Other
sources of material on the subject are Fabretti, _Biog. dei Capitani
dell' Umbria_, Hoefer's _Biog. universelle_, and Michaud's _Biog.
generale_. Symonds gives a general account of