The Miracle of the Ass

After leaving Florence in 1443, Donatello had settled in Padua, where he lived and worked until 1453. He created not only the main altar of the Saint Anthony Cathedral but the equestrian statue of Gattamelata as well. The main altar of the Cathedral (1447–1450) was the first Renaissance retable which was made mostly of bronze. The altar is decorated with a bronze Crucifix, six additional statues, four reliefs representing the miracles of Saint Anthony, a series of reliefs playing and singing angels, and another relief depicting the Entombment. The Museum purchased the copies of the four reliefs with the miracles of Saint Anthony and the series with playing and singing angels in 1907. In 1999 and 2005 the plaster cast reliefs of the miracles of Saint Anthony were restored and exhibited in the University and National Library of the University of Debrecen.