Around 1450, the Italian sculptor Donatello created a bronze equestrian statue of a mercenary general known as Gattamelata (“honeyed cat”). Imitating the famous statue of Emperor Marcus Aurelius in ancient Rome, Donatello’s work was the first public statue in the Renaissance to memorialize a non-ruler. This talk will explore the history, significance, and ongoing restoration of this important work of art.

Presented by Prof. Sarah Blake McHam, Professor Emerita of Art History, Rutgers University

Sarah Blake McHam, Distinguished Professor Emerita at Rutgers University, taught Italian art history there from the late 1970s until her retirement in 2024 and was the recipient of prestigious awards for excellence in graduate teaching. She served two terms as chair and co-directed the Italian study abroad summer program in Urbino in 1987 and directed the study abroad year-long program in Paris/Tours in 1996-97.

Her research focuses on Venice, Padua, and Florence. Her books include Pliny and the Artistic Culture of the Italian Renaissance: The Legacy of the Natural History, 2013 (named one of the best books of 2013 by the Times Literary Supplement and winner of the Roland Bainton prize for the best art history book of 2013, Sixteenth Century Studies Society); Looking at Italian Renaissance Sculpture, editor, 1998, 2000; The Chapel of St. Anthony at the Santo and the Development of Venetian Renaissance Sculpture, 1994; and The Sculpture of Tullio Lombardo; Studies in Sources and Meaning, 1978.

McHam’s honors include the Ailsa Mellon Bruce Senior Fellowship at the Center for Advanced Study, National Gallery, in Washington, D.C, 2014-15; a Gladys Krieble Delmas Fellowship, 2014-15; and membership at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, 2000-1, among other fellowships.

BOSTON LECTURE SERIES SUBSCRIPTION:
Save Venice members: $150 per person
Non-members: $160 per person

INDIVIDUAL LECTURES:
Members: $55 per person
Non-members: $65 per person

Reservations and payment are required in advance. Your name will be on the list at the door.

Reservations can be made via email: SVBoston@savevenice.org.

Payment can be made online via the button below or via check, to Save Venice Boston, Post Office Box 170302, Boston, MA 02117.