... sculptor Donatello was the first sculptor to make statues in the spirit of the ancient sculpture, rather than just borrowing motifs from it. He was eager to picture the spirit of adventure and freedom, the same spirit that built new cities, discovered a new continent, and probed the secrets of the universe. His statue of "David" is graceful, youthful, and elegant, and comparable to Greek sculpture. Masaccio is called the father of Renaissance painters. Masaccio could not look directly to models for his paintings, since very few Roman painting had survived. He knew that ancient painters tried to paint true to nature. His use of light and shadow, the solidity and realism of his figures, and the use of the perspective in his paintings were entirely different from the work of the medieval and late Gothic artists who preceded him. The feeling of space and depth found in his frescoes ...

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