Was Donatello the first artist in history to express a queer identity?

The sculptor lived at a time when you could be burned at the stake for homosexuality. Yet, as an exhibition of his work hits London, the evidence that he was openly gay seems increasingly convincing

The godfather of the Florentine republic sighed. Perhaps he also stroked a cat, Vito Corleone-style, as he considered yet another request for a favour. This time it was the sculptor Donatello who needed help from his patron, Cosimo de’ Medici, the boss of mid-15th-century Florence. It was a case of boyfriend trouble.

Donatello had fallen out with his apprentice, who was also his lover. The young man had run off to Ferrara so Donatello, consumed with possessive rage, wanted Cosimo to give him a letter addressed to the ruler of Ferrara to explain that Donatello was there to murder his boyfriend. Cosimo provided the letter and sent a separate message asking Ferrara’s ruler to be gentle with Donatello for he was an artist and could get a bit emotional. When Donatello found his beloved, the youth “fell about laughing and Donatello, melting instantly, started laughing too”.

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