Give American customers what they want: Donatello’s sculpture in plaster casts, c. 1870–c. 1910

The plaster casts of the nineteenth century served a major role, often unappreciated today, in the dissemination and interpretation of works of art. An examination of the casts of works by Donatello being offered to American buyers reveals that the Donatello of the late nineteenth century in the United States was not the Donatello of today. Cast sales catalogues include many objects no longer attributed to him, such as the Saint Cecilia (or Saint Helena ) now in Toledo, Ohio. They also neglect some works that are much admired now, such as the pulpits in San Lorenzo. Against a background of the rise of collecting and the popularity of casts, this article defines the nature of Donatello’s oeuvre as found in the American market for casts of his sculpture. It is proposed that marketability played a major part in the selection of works to sell. American collectors approached the wares from the context of a Protestant, often anti-Catholic bias, as well as a desire to develop a culture closer to European models. Similar attitudes abound in the art criticism of the time. The differences between the Donatello of the late nineteenth century and that of the early twenty-first century provide a revealing illustration of the relationship between societal attitudes and the historiography of art.