Page:Vasari - Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, volume 1.djvu/497

Rh fest the excellence of his art in his accustomed manner. At the same time he executed many other works, in stucco and clay; and, from a piece of old marble which the nuns abovementioned had in their garden, he produced a very beautiful figure of the Virgin. A vast number of works by this master exist in all parts of that city. They caused him to be considered a wonder among the Paduans, and won him the commendations of all good judges. But this determined Donato to return to Florence; he declared that if he remained any longer in Padua, he should forget all that he had acquired, from being so much praised by every one; wherefore he affirmed that he should return gladly to his native city, though he were to be continually censured there, since such censure would give him motives for study, and consequently conduce to his attainment of greater glory. Having therefore departed from Padua, he passed through Venice on his return to Florence, and, as a mark of his consideration for the Florentines residing there, he left them the gift of a San Giovanni Batista, for their chapel in the church of the Friars Minors, carved by himself, in wood, with infinite study and care. In the city of Faenza, also, Donatello executed a San Giovanni and a San Girolamo, which are no less esteemed than are the other works of this master. On his return into Tuscany, Donatello constructed a marble tomb in the chapter-house of Montepulciano, adorned with an historical representation of great beauty. In the sacristy of San Lorenzo, in Florence, he executed a marble lavatory,